Surveying and Actioning the Tangible and Intangible dimensions of Rural Heritage in RURITAGE H2020 Project

Rural Heritage is as important as it is difficult to circumscribe, identify and survey but it can also play a major cultural, social and economic role. This paper focuses on the methodology developed by the funded Horizon 2020 Project “Ruritage” where digital tools constitute a focus strategy for the regeneration process for rural regions. In this process the cultural and natural heritage of rural regions includes both tangible and intangible features the identification and visualization of which are very important for the new understandings created and effectiveness of its potential to be developed by local communities. An Atlas permits a simultaneous contextualization of various pilots for the uses required by the project where several pilots create networks for mutual learning process. A digital platform including a web GIS, based on OpenStreetMap, and a database constitute Atlas final output. It is part of a set of digital tools devised to support local stakeholders and monitor territorial developments. The paper will discuss different kinds of contaminations: (i) highlighting cultural and natural heritage together with other resources; (ii) processing different kinds of data for a common purpose (iii) matching direct involvement of individuals and digital tools; (iii) creating a multilevel approach to combining tangible and intangible heritage through a multidisciplinary team. Critical issues of the developed methodologies will also be discussed.