The signs of defense in the Landscape of the Island of Capri: creating Value for Cultural Tourism

The evidence of fortified architectures on the island of Capri are the focus of this contribution, which aims to analyze not individual episodes, but the presence of a landscape system deeply connected to defensive sites and characterized by still significantly persistent testimonies. The research focuses on promoting the memory of what could be termed “signs of defense” meaning the architectures and ruins that preserve fragments of history and define the authentic identity of the island, while proposing a reinterpretation of fortified structures as privileged observatories of the landscape of an island that asserts itself in its central position within the Gulf of Naples. Assigning new meaning to Capri's defensive system entails valuing architectural assets to foster a broader understanding of cultural heritage in relation to the community, recognizing the importance of these sites based on the meanings and uses attributed to them by civilizations over time. These seemingly conceptual operations lead to the decidedly practical idea of initiating processes aimed at promoting a form of tourism that is not consumptive but cultural, presenting fortified architectures as instruments for promoting historical knowledge and as bastions of local identity, contributing to the preservation and enhancement of the landscape. Then, enhancing the fortifications of Capri to establish a value creation model for cultural tourism segments sensitive to memorable experiences means providing the destination with an opportunity to extend tourism beyond the peak season, attract segments with different – and more environmentally respectful – tourism consumption goals, and thereby reduce the summer pressure on the island and the negative effects of Overtourism it suffers from. In this perspective, the Barbarossa Castle, the Orrico, Mesola, and Pino fortifications, and other fortified sites, ancient witnesses to defensive actions, become the subjects of possible strategies capable of triggering value-creation mechanisms crucial for local tourism, not only from an economic perspective but above all from a cultural and environmental one.