La promozione e la valorizzazione del turismo rurale nella legislazione regionale

This paper, after focusing on the definition and genesis of the expression «rural tourism», explores the manoeuvring space and the role played so far by the regional legislator in this area. In fact, rural tourism, in addition to being governed by ad hoc regional laws - analyzed in the first part of the paper - also finds regulatory spaces in laws attributable to other matters of regional intervention - examined in the second part of the article. The multiplicity of legislative initiatives taken into consideration demonstrates the commitment of the Regions in enhancing their own territorial specificities, including the environmental, landscape, cultural and historical resources of a place, and the potentialities linked to a sector that, especially in recent years, has favored the rediscovery and use of rural places, far from urban centers and large crowds.