At a slow pace. Paths of sustainability in Italian inner areas

The paper examines the phenomenon of “walking tourism”, an ancient, slow, and sustainable travel practice that has gained significant traction in recent years both in Europe and in Italy. Three objectives are pursued: (i) to explore the potential relationship between slow tourism, walking routes, and inner areas; (ii) to provide a concise and critical review of the institutional actions introduced in Italy to support those pedestrian cultural itineraries; (iii) to map the territorial asymmetries characterizing this network of soft mobility and investigate the underlying causes.