Industrial heritage and rural landscape as tools of sustainable development. An ecomuseum proposal for the Fabriano area

On the basis of the recent research and institutional literature, the article points out as landscape may constitute a key resource in local development strategies.  Its preservation and valorization can enhance processes of both enforcement of the civic identity and economic growth, linked to tourism and a sustainable rural development. Ecomuseums represent a tool to achieve these goals through integrated policies involving community participation, local entrepreneurship, and the landscape assets of a territory. ICT technologies can find innovative applications and cover a relevant role in the activation and promotion of these processes. These suggestions are exemplified by the project of the Ecomuseum of Papermaking proposed for the area of Fabriano, an industrial town of the Italian Apennine hit by the recent economic crisis and featured by a remarkable industrial heritage.