L’ancien rite de la transhumance entre passé et présent: retracer le Tratturo Magno, des Abruzzes aux Pouilles, vers un développement durable des territoires

The ancient pastoral practice of transhumance, which involves herds moving from mountain pastures to plain pastures and vice versa according to the hot and cold seasons, is still practiced in parts of the Mediterranean basin. Transhumance is experiencing a new “springtime” as a result of its UNESCO World Heritage designation and its growing relationship with rural tourism and high–quality enogastronomy. Moreover, the Mediterranean Diet, part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of the same UNESCO, is also spreading around the world as a sustainable and healthy practice and it is a peculiar characteristic of the Tratturo Magno and of the transhumance. Starting from the analysis of the two mentioned heritage assets, the present contribution aims at creating a strong connection between them as a result of the peculiarities encountered, with particular regard to the enogastronomic elements embedded in the transhumance. Furthermore, an in depth reflection is carried out with relation to sustainability aspects and to the strong potential for paths of rural tourism development.