The present research work analyzes the path of territorial reconfiguration that has led to the new uses of agricultural land. In particular, the analysis focuses on the conflict of use between agriculture and sport. Is the sporting practice of golf a new form of sustainable tourism or a violation of traditional rural vocations? The paper compares two case studies in Italy and Brazil to try to answer the aforementioned research question. The two cases under study represent a conflict of land use between the hypothesis of persevering solely agricultural activity and the possibility of introducing new activities. Often, however, agriculture as the only activity practiced by a population is not enough to ensure a sufficient income; it is therefore necessary to diversify economic activities. As will be seen in the text, this does not mean a total abandonment of the primary activity in favor of other land uses apparently in contrast with it.

Aragonese Maps’ is the name of the remaining sheets of the large-scale topographic map series attributed to the Aragonese administration of Southern Italy (1282–1516). These maps are one of the ‘mysteries’ of the history of Europe for the layered wealth of geographical information and the technical perfection of the drawing, cartography. They offer innumerable possibilities of territorial investigation and for this reason they are at the centre of the recent research of geographers, historians and scholars of the territory tout court. The visible and invisible landscapes they depict, of which the toponyms are privileged indicators, offer the opportunity for a geographical-historical investigation in a diachronic perspective: in fact, they contain numerous details linked to previous or subsequent contexts and as many questions about their origin and historical provenance. The contribution therefore proposes a geo-cartographic reading of the material and immaterial landscape elements of the Aragonese maps, starting from three objectives: the comment of some ‘enigmatic’ details of the depicted territory; the dynamic and functional reading of the landscapes obtained from an examination of the most explanatory toponyms; a methodological proposal for the realization of a Geotoponomastic Atlas based on the semantic web.

The project ‘Tourist itineraries to discover the waters of Italy.’ designed and promoted by the Interuniversity Research Group Association GECOAGRI-LANDITALY, brings together scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds based on the belief that the water resource must be interpreted in its various components, functions, and potential. The project is characterised by three core features: immersion, inclusion and implementation of content. The continuous collaboration among scholars, local institutions and stakeholders has led to the development of an innovative research methodology and tools for enhancing the tourism experience. The result not only provides tourists with access to fascinating yet lesser-known sites but also empowers local operators to rediscover, enhance, and promote their territory and economic activities.

Over the past two decades Italian agricultural systems have recorded an extraordinary change in their structural foundations partially due also to the contradictory CAP regulations. The most significant factors that have produced the accelerated evolution in our countryside are two: on the one hand, the recognition and acquisition by the primary sector of new economic, social, environmental and cultural functions, on the other hand, the renewed interest in the beauty of rural areas, the importance of technical sustainable agricultural production and the quality of the food supply sources. To all these aspects, researchers and the general public attribute today the fundamental role of guarantors for the quality of life and human health, animal health and environmental protection. It is a new awareness that, breaking the traditional delay with which the primary sector responds to the cultural activities, with unexpected timing, has translated into concrete, conspicuous forms of land corporate reorganization. Applying the qualitative and quantitative methodology of the Interuniversity Research Group GECOAGRI LANDITALY to the latest census data of the agriculture in 2010, the contribution considers the recent evolution of Italian agricultural systems to evidence landscape outcomes and territorial issues.

In Europa e in alcune aree del mondo si sono registrati, sin dagli anni Ottanta del Novecento, alcuni flussi migratori provenienti dal Nord globale, noti anche come migrazioni internazionali di ritiro (o per pensionamento) (International Retirement Migration - IRM) che coinvolgono diversi attori – principalmente pre-pensionati/pensionati – il cui profilo sia per formazione culturale che per status sociale ed economico si presenta totalmente diverso rispetto a quello dei migranti proveniente dal Sud del mondo, così come le motivazioni che albergano principalmente nella ricerca di un territorio qualitativamente migliore soprattutto nella dimensione ambientale. Gli effetti territoriali di queste azioni si riverberano sia nelle dinamiche della popolazione in quanto vanno a ripopolare territori caratterizzati da “inverni demografici” sia nella dimensione culturale e sociale in quanto si possono generare azioni di sviluppo territoriale locale, rigenerando paesi rurali, montani e collinari a rischio di abbandono. Queste le ragioni per analizzare il fenomeno a scala europea e nazionale, con la finalità ultima di comprendere quanto, dove e per quale motivo le migrazioni di ritiro si sono sviluppate e quale sia il livello di consolidamento raggiunto.

L’invecchiamento della popolazione, un fenomeno in forte crescita e a diffusione globale, si manifesta con intensità e modalità differenziate a livello territoriale, generando nuove geografie sociali e demografiche. I diciannove articoli raccolti in questo numero tematico offrono un'ampia ed esaustiva panoramica delle dinamiche tra popolazione e territorio, analizzando l'invecchiamento da diverse prospettive e differenti scale territoriali e spaziali, con un'analisi che va dal contesto europeo a quello italiano. I contributi, seppur eterogenei per metodologie e tematiche, si intrecciano delineando una trama narrativa caleidoscopica sui problemi e sulle opportunità legati all’invecchiamento e alle sue implicazioni territoriali.