Gazes on Levanto: a Case Study on How Local Identity Could Become Part of the Touristic Supply - Tourism and Visual Culture: Theories and Concepts - page 121

Fig. 9.4. Loss of memory.

dimension of its identity, and not as a simple
label put on for promotional purposes.
So the sense of belonging to that land is
very deeply rooted and diffi cult to extinguish.
Also, those who go away for study or work not
only tend to return but carry a sense of being a
Levanto inhabitant, according to a process that
we can call being dynamically deeply rooted
(Maffesoli, 1997).
Certainly this sense of belonging and of
being strongly tied with one's own anthropo-
logical place shows certain negative connota-
tions, and may emerge such as the extreme
'stillness' that makes it diffi cult for young people
to think of a future settled in Levanto.
One interviewee talked about an 'environ-
mental disaster', 4 that could run the risk of losing
memory and consequently those elements framing
territorial identity: a contrast - noticed in different
occasions - between what is seen by Levanto's

inhabitants as strong points (such as the seaside,
the landscape, the paths, the cultivations, the mon-
umental heritage, the past tourist style, etc.) and
the insuffi cient attention towards their protection.
A critical look turned not only to the administration
and to past political choices, but also inwards to
themselves. From this fi rst step, we can understand
why the possibility of feeling themselves as part
of the economic development produces some
diffi culties to be resolved. The following area is
strictly connected with this one, and deals more
precisely with the relationship with tourists.

Identity and relationship with tourist 5

The character of this land, and its double nature,
depends on the relation between the sea and the
mountains, and is refl ected is the anthropological
character of Levanto's inhabitants and in their

4 See Fig. 9.3.
5 This area is visualized by Figs 9.5-9.9.