Cenni sulle Aree interne della Regione Toscana

The renewed interest in Italy’s marginal areas has recently gained prominence in both cultural and policy discourse as a response to a dual phenomenon: on the one hand, the progressive depopulation, ageing population, decline in employment, and the chronic deficiency of essential services (such as healthcare, education, and mobility); on the other, a growing awareness of these areas’ potential in terms of cultural, environmental, and productive heritage. Marginal areas account for over 60% of the national territory and host approximately one-quarter of the Italian population. These territories – typically rural, mountainous, and often located in fragile ecological contexts – are marked by structural marginality, further exacerbated by their remoteness from major urban centers and by a persistent lack of infrastructures and services. Nevertheless, they retain a strong cultural identity, significant landscape value, high levels of biodiversity, and rich local traditions that constitute important territorial capital. The effort to counteract the decline of marginal areas has been actualized through the National Strategy for marginal areas (Strategia Nazionale per le Aree Interne – SNAI), launched in 2013 within the framework of EU cohesion policy. The strategy promotes targeted, place-based development interventions aimed at improving quality of life and reversing long-term decline. The SNAI is grounded in a multi-level governance model involving the State, Regions, and local authorities, and it seeks to strengthen Italy’s polycentric territorial structure through integrated strategies capable of combining local resources, social innovation, and access to high-quality essential services. The Tuscany Region has adapted the SNAI principles to its specific territorial features and development priorities. During the 2014-2020 programming cycle, three project areas were selected: (1) Garfagnana, Lunigiana, Media Valle del Serchio, and Appennino Pistoiese; (2) Valdarno-Valdisieve, Mugello, Valbisenzio; (3) Casentino and Valtiberina. In the ongoing 2021-2027 cycle, three additional areas have been identified: (4) Alta Valdera-Alta Val di Cecina-Colline Metallifere-Val di Merse; (5) Amiata Val d’Orcia-Amiata Grossetana-Colline del Fiora; (6) Montagna Pistoiese-Valle dell’Ombrone-Monte Amiata-Val d’Arno Superiore. Despite their heterogeneity, these areas share common challenges such as demographic decline, infrastructural isolation, and limited access to services, but also common assets, including rich historical and landscape heritage, which offer significant development potential. The SNAI experience has shown that, despite their peripheral position, marginal areas can become laboratories for social and economic innovation, grounded in sustainable, integrated, and participatory development models. These territories offer a testing ground for new governance paradigms, for the enhancement of territorial capital, and for the activation of community-based processes of resilience and regeneration. This contribution provides a definition of the term marginal area, outlines the methodology used to map these areas across Italy, and describes the process for designing and implementing Framework Programme Agreements (Accordi di Programma Quadro – APQ). A particular focus is given to the case of the Tuscany Region, where the national strategy has been reinterpreted to reflect local dynamics and to activate integrated territorial projects that capitalize on endogenous resources and promote inclusive, place-based development.