Abstract

This paper analyses the historical origins and the current trends of cultural tourism in Southern Italy. What is evident, not only in Italy, is that cultural tourism has deeply changed throughout time, also due to the economic and social transformations that have occurred in modern and contemporary history. The aspects that historically determined the marginalization of the cultural journey in Southern Italy, appear to be both the struggling of the means of transport and the renowned cultural heritage existing in the rest of Italy. The current situation remains complex, because cultural tourism is still definitely more frequent in the Centre-North of the country and a lot of cultural sites in Southern regions report a limited number of visitors.