Ricerc@Sapienza

communities and the so-called “heritage communities” of which such heritage is an expression, is
becoming an increasingly important vehicle for the economic and social development, especially
in emerging countries. The places that express the history, culture and values of the human
collectives can become, in this way, laboratories in which the knowledge and the traditions are
reinterpreted in a continuous dialogue. Of such valorization and of such dialogue, the emerging
countries can benefit in view of a profitable local development that can also propose diversified
and seasonally adjusted tourism routes, able to bring constant tourist flows, with positive
economic and social consequences. In light of these considerations, the paper aims to explore the
different paths through which, in emerging countries, it is possible to create new models of
development also through innovative ways of dialogue with the so-called “patrimonial
communities”. Central will be a reflection on how the most recent international patterns to
promote social and economic development can be “translated” and adapted to specific
developing geographic and sectoral contexts.