The Effectiveness of Geotrails to Support Sustainable Development in the Campi Flegrei Active Volcanic Area

The fruition and protection of natural heritage to restore cultural identity and promote the regeneration of a marginal urban area fully comply with the targets of sustainable development. With this in mind, we propose a cultural trail in the outskirts of the metropolitan area of Naples, which includes a field tour with several stops outstanding for geological and landscape value and a virtual tour of an ancient underground quarry, from which piperno, a unique pyroclastic rock, was exploited in the past centuries. The educational purpose of the tour is twofold. On the one hand, it leads people to achieve a better understanding of the geological features of the Campi Flegrei territory, which is essential to raise the awareness of the potential hazards it poses and to improve the resilience of those communities. On the other hand, the tour should provide a significant opportunity to get in touch with archeologic and historic remnants worthy of preservation, which help develop a sense of belonging to places. Visitors can also enjoy green spaces in an urban area, observe plant species typical of the Mediterranean environment, and, in the process, learn how the regeneration of semi-abandoned areas with endemic vegetation can help reduce the negative consequences of land degradation exacerbated by climate change. The geotrail fruition can improve well-being and strengthen the relationship between people and territory and, as a final spillover, create new low-impact income-producing activities. All these outcomes add up in supporting sustainable development in a marginal urban area, where liveability is made much more difficult by the impending volcanic risk.