I2) Managing and Promoting a Religious Route: A Pilot Project Experience in Sicily (Italy) - The Itinerarium Rosaliae

Religious tourism is a rapidly growing sector with significant economic and cultural impacts worldwide, with 330 million people undertaking religious journeys each year. In Europe, Italy leads in this field, with religious routes playing an essential and expanding role in boosting tourism and local economies, driven by increased interest in spiritual and cultural pathways. Recognising the important contribution of religious paths to economic growth in the areas - often rural - that they pass through, the Italian Ministry of Tourism has allocated funds and created a national catalogue of religious routes to support their maintenance, management, and promotion. This is crucial for ensuring the preservation of sites and paths along the routes, as well as for promoting sustainable local development, particularly in rural areas. On this basis, this paper explores the management and promotion of religious routes, focusing on a pilot project in Sicily (Southern Italy) for the management and enhancement of the Itinerarium Rosaliae. This 200 km cultural, naturalistic, and religious path traces the journey of Saint Rosalia across the places of her hermitage. The paper illustrates the potential of this project for sustainable local development and the challenges it faces. It highlights the creation of a management group and a territorial network involving the public and private sectors, local communities, religious organisations, and institutions. The study also emphasises a multidisciplinary approach, integrating cultural heritage, spiritual experiences, and sustainable tourism practices, aimed at implementing cultural, naturalistic, and spiritual experiences through a bottom-up co-design with local operators. The management project also aims to promote social inclusion, support local operators, and utilise digital tools and innovative strategies for sustainable growth. In conclusion, the Itinerarium Rosaliae case study represents an evolving model for the sustainable development of religious tourism in Sicily, fostering local economic growth while strengthening cultural and spiritual identities.