This article analyzes inner and marginal territories in four Italian peripheral contexts by first discussing some of the results and future steps of the “B4R Branding4Resilience” research project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Research from 2020 to 2023. The overall research is based on three phases: (1) the exploration phase to analyze socio-economic data and territorial dynamics; (2) the co-design phase involving local actors to develop ideas for a selected pilot case; (3) the co-visioning phase where a future transformative perspective for the whole area was shared with the institutions. The article focuses on phase 1 and presents some first results achieved by the application of a methodological approach based on the integration of different qualitative and quantitative tools and methods. The results outline the exploration of the four selected territories through data analyses and mapping, perceptive-narrative explorations, field research, and explorative designs. The concept of peripherality is addressed in a critical way, trying to go beyond standardized definitions, including interdisciplinarity as an essential tool for territorial enhancement and branding. The main interpretation findings not only outline possible strategies and actions for the four analyzed inner territories, but also foster the application of the proposed methodological approach in other complex socio-economic contexts.

The higher education scenario is constantly evolving and COVID-19 restrictions traced a demarcation line with previous behaviours and practices. Even though the European Commission spends many efforts to monitor the progresses, indicate the challenges as well as to give the perspectives, innovating the way in which we teach, especially about heritage & design, is rarely a priority.The article presents an interdisciplinary learning activity carried out within the RAILtoLAND (RtL) project, a co-funded Erasmus+ project under the Key Action 2 “Cooperation for innovation”. RtL is a collective ideation platform to develop innovative tools to communicate the European Cultural Landscapes by train and it has the goal to explore the social and educational value of the railway landscape as a common heritage and as a catalyst for European identity.The workshop was carried out in the Sub-Apennine area dealing with two complementary and fundamental topics “Digital Heritage & Design Thinking”, experiencing virtual events and innovative practices for the knowledge, narrative and design of heritage and landscape. The workshop stemmed from an interdisciplinary approach: experts in digital cultural heritage, survey and representation techniques, geomatics, and urban and landscape designers brought together their expertise and performed a ground-breaking study activity. The learning activities involved areas in the Marche Region (Italy) through on field activities, and the Porto-Vigo railway line (Portugal-Spain) through the experience of a virtual trip.

This article explores the methodological framework and examines the learning and scientific outcomes of a workshop activity centred on the innovative integration of digital heritage approaches with design thinking methodologies. The workshop was developed in the Italian central Apennines and it investigated the design implications of working on heritage contexts in marginal areas using innovative digital tools, as well as the impact of this approach on the community. The activities engaged international students and professors, employed a multidisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and trans-scalar approach encompassing field research, data processing, dialogue, and collaborative visioning. The findings are both methodological and thematic. Methodologically, the workshop introduced a novel approach to architectural education by integrating digitalization in the design process and by fostering an urban vision that bridges research with local needs. Thematically, the outputs explore new uses for “potential spaces”, sustainable mobility, heritage-led strategies, and tourism, emphasizing community involvement. The workshop’s originality lies in its cognitive, narrative, and design processes, where digital data are part of the creative process. Despite the workshop’s compressed timeline, it successfully fostered creative thinking and practical solutions, demonstrating the value of intense, interdisciplinary collaborative visioning for heritage regeneration. The workshop’s broader implications include potential spin-offs into future community engagement and knowledge-transfer activities, highlighting its social and practical relevance.

The article investigates the possibilities of re-activating the built heritage of the Marche Apennine through shared, creative, and transcalar approaches. This is a particularly challenging task for marginal inner areas, which during the pandemic have been even more isolated due to previous structural issues such as lack of services, poor accessibility, economic stagnation, and depopulation. Italian inner areas are also facing an increase in environmental risks linked to ongoing climate change. This work focuses on the Appennino Basso Pesarese Anconetano in the Marche Region as part of the national project “Branding4Resilience”. The research methodological approach entails an exploration of the territory through quantitative and qualitative tools to investigate the possibility of a new reading of the Marche inner area and suggest operation at a local level, without losing the wider perspective on global challenges. This interpretation is synthesized in a territorial portrait that supports visions for the sustainable transformation of the area, and shows the need for shared collaborative approaches for more inclusive forms of living together. Finally, the work proposes built heritage as a trigger for development processes in marginalized territories, thus highlighting the crucial role of design and creativity, through transcalar approaches, to unveil relevant and often hidden resources and to envisage resilient futures for inner areas.

This contribution aims to describe commons practices in marginal landscapes from the perspective of the design disciplines – landscape and urban design and architecture – as special collective forms of transfer of tangible and intangible values. Case studies in the Alps and Apennine context support the analysis. Specifically the paper investigates the role of commons to explore how these practices in urban and rural areas can be different for their relational capacity and strength, but are also complementary in enabling forms of inclusive habitat. Commons in marginal landscapes are examined through the lens of landscape design and space transformation to detect structural challenges and dynamics but also to propose an alternative narrative. These places need the innovative potential of commons to steer a necessary upgrade in the management and use of material and immaterial resources.