La pressione turistico-residenziale sulla montagna appenninica

After considering the question of how to define mountains, this study describes the condition of the Appenine area (delimited on the basis of the measure of maximum altitude applied to all Italian Communes) in the light of certain indicators that illustrate not only the consistency of and attitudes towards the market of second homes and their destined use, but also the development of tourist facilities. Although they reveal a general level of environmental risk, the results (supported by the albeit partial cartographic illustration inserted in the text) contradict the widely held stereotypical view of the southern part of the Appenine chain as an area under high pressure due to urban speculation and excessive hotel-based tourism.