From periphery to growth pole (and back again?): late industrialism, smart strategies and tourism in south-eastern Sicily

Teresa Graziano and Luca Ruggiero

Regional Studies, Regional Science, 2023, vol. 10, issue 1, 89-105

Abstract: This article provides new insights into the relationship between industrialization and new forms of post-industrial development. Adopting a historical sensibility, it frames the contemporary development of the local economy of the city of Siracusa, in south-east Sicily, in an evolutionary historical perspective. The article focuses on the recent process of touristification of the city and surrounding area, analysing this process in connection with the industrialization and growth-pole strategy implemented in south-east Sicily in the post-war period. Emphasis is placed on the narratives that have been mobilized to justify different forms of development in the area, focusing in particular on the recurrent representation of the area as a periphery. Pointing out the selective use of visions of the past in post-industrial development strategies, the authors highlight how an uncomfortable industrial past has been removed from the main narratives to envision the city of Siracusa as moving towards a new phase of capitalist development. Finally, the article provides novel insights into the critical literature on tourism, showing that tourism, narrated and promoted as a sustainable and eco-compatible alternative to industrialization in Siracusa, can in fact produce highly negative impacts on the local environment and communities.

Date: 2023
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/21681376.2023.2168211 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:rsrsxx:v:10:y:2023:i:1:p:89-105

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/rsrs20

DOI: 10.1080/21681376.2023.2168211

Access Statistics for this article

Regional Studies, Regional Science is currently edited by Alasdair Rae

More articles in Regional Studies, Regional Science from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().