The Mediterranean diet, inscribed in the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO in 2010, is inspired by the traditional food models of Italy, France, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Cyprus and Croatia, all countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, the Mediterranean area, geographically and territorially, has the characteristics to give value to past food models, which are products of the local territory (legumes, grains, vegetables, fruit, fish). The major aim is to encourage this type of food, which has always been one of the key points for biology studies in the fields of nutrition, food safety and biodiversity protection. The notion of "Mediterranean diet", or "Mediterranean way. How to eat well and stay well” (Keys & Keys, 1975) does not refer only to a nutritional model shared by many peoples of the Mediterranean basin, but embraces wider and deeper concepts that refer to a peculiar lifestyle, to a specific modality of production and consumption of food, to a certain way of conceiving the relationship between people and the environment. The Mediterranean way is a tool for achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

A ‘Park to Live’, a social inclusion project with the aim of making socially active a heritage of high natural and landscape value, such as the Regional Natural Park of Lama Balice, located in the city of Bari (Apulia Region, Italy), through the introduction and testing of environmental and green healing activities for the psycho-physical well-being of users with mental illness. The spaces surrounding Villa Framarino, building owned by the Municipality of Bari, lead authority of the Park, have become an ‘open-air’ laboratory to enhance the potential skills and manual and psycho-physical ones of the participants, through agricultural activities as orthotherapy and environmental education experiences with sensory laboratories in a perspective of landsense ecology toward sustainable development. Recent studies on Landsense ecology have highlighted how urban parks not only improve urban ecosystems, but also provide cultural values to city dwellers. The use of perceptual indicators and perception itself increases visitor satisfaction. Furthermore, the more a territory is urbanized, the more citizens prefer natural landscapes. In particular, in a recent paper, the authors highlight the relationships between sustainable development, landsense creation and ecosystem services. This work is based on this approach in order to develop environmental activities; to experiment an innovative networking system for the sustainable development of the territory; to promote a sustainable lifestyle through specific sensorial and relational experiences that increase self-awareness and spread self-responsibility aimed at protecting the natural environment of the Park.

The sustainable urban redevelopment project to protect biodiversity was developed to regenerate the external spaces of an ancient rural farmhouse, Villa Framarino, in the regional Natural Park of Lama Balice, a shallow erosive furrow (lama) rich in biodiversity, between two suburbs of the city of Bari (Apulia, Italy) and close to the city airport. This work includes a complex system of activities aimed not only at a spatial revaluation, necessary to relaunch the urban image, but it is accompanied by interventions of a cultural, social, economic, environmental and landscape nature, aimed at increasing the quality of life, in compliance with the principles of sustainability and social participation. One of the means to revitalize a territory subject to redevelopment is the planning of events and activities of socio-cultural value that involve the population to revive the sense of belonging to the territory and the community and at the same time to protect the biodiversity of the urban park of the protected natural area.

One of the most discussed issues on the contemporary scene, when it comes to territory, cities and citizens is that of the revitalization of urban spaces through social innovation activities. These are projects designed to create a bottom-up network, that is, starting from the realities that are really active on the local territory and linked by a common goal, that of an active protection of such territories, making them “alive” and usable by citizens of all ages, backgrounds and abilities, without affecting the ecosystem balances. The project “Green days in the Park of Lama Balice” has had as general objective the dissemination of the culture of sustainability and the awareness of the population on the issues of environmental protection, on the relationship between human beings and nature, with particular attention to the waste cycle and to the opportunities offered by proper management and disposal with a view to reduction, recovery and recycling. These are based on ecological principles together with the analysis framework of natural elements, physical senses, psychological perceptions, socio-economic perspectives, process-risk, and associated aspects, as characteristic elements of Landsenses Ecology which includes, among other aspects, also those relating to risks, such as biological and socio-economic ones, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. This can represent a response to the health emergency with the improvement of psychophysical and emotional well-being by providing sustainable well-being for communities and maintaining, improving and increasing the resilience of ecosystem services.

Currently, there is an increasing demand of transparency in food labelling in line with the consumers concern about food origin and composition. In the recent years, several food indexes have been developed to promote healthy diet as an affordable way to prevent chronic diseases. The Mediterranean diet is recognized as one of the healthiest dietary regimen related to a low incidence of mortality from cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases; anyway, a complete index quantifying the Mediteraneaness of foods is still evanescent. Identifying a uniform labelling system, valid in all EU countries and able to promote healthy lifestyle, is the current European challenge. This article deals with the development of the Mediterranean Index (MI), which may definitely estimate the Mediterraneaness degree of food. In particular MI, which simultaneously accounts nutritional and sustainability features of foods, may constitute an objective reference for using the “Mediterraneaness” label on food products; moreover, it can ultimately define the link to the Mediterranean diet encouraging producers to make healthier and more sustainable food products. Growing consumer willingness of eating healthy foods promoting well-being represents a conscious choice which could favor the diffusion of the precision nutrition principles.

In an increasingly complex global economic scenario, sustainability represents a fundamental compass aimed to guide actions of institutions and individuals. A nondissipative use of Earth’s resources is feasible through a common effort that reconsiders the actual development system according to the key principles of the bioeconomy. It is vital to start from local contexts to reach the global dimension by exploiting the opportunities available in each territory. Starting from these assumptions, the participatory process activated in the Apulia region has represented the first step towards an intervention strategy in the panorama of the bioeconomy, and has made it possible to increase the awareness of a development based on the adoption of bioeconomy models and, therefore, circular economy ones through an effective inclusion process. A process has given rise to a project allowing all involved actors to reflect on the double economy–environment system, to share good practices and promote the adoption of lifestyles and consumption styles more compatible with the principles of the bioeconomy and to elaborate a proposal for a participatory regional law for the bioeconomy in the Apulia region as an expression of the collaboration between different bodies and institutions (universities, Confindustria and the council of the Puglia region).