Ricerc@Sapienza

The present contribution is aimed at reconstructing the history of the Psychology of Tourism in Italy through the lens of the Interdisciplinary Scientific Committee "Psychology and Tourism" set up in September 1984 during the Workshop “Psychology and Tourism” that followed the Conference the XX Congress of Italian Psychologists, at San Pellegrino Terme (Bergamo), in a territorial reality that evoked ancient forms of tourism.
The transformation of the Scientific Committee from a research group into a research association, A.R.I.P.T. (Association for Interdisciplinary Research on the Psychology of Tourism) fifteen years later aimed at consolidating the scientific networks already created.
In 2012 the A.R.I.P.T succeeded in formalizing its main lines of intervention, through the Fo.R.P., i.e. the Training, Research and Planning of operators in the tourism sector both Pre and Post Lauream. (BA and MA Degrees).
This contribution outlines the main steps of a complex and multifarious journey that has lasted thirty-five years, whose guiding thread, in the evolution and strengthening of the activities carried out, was the interdisciplinary approach, thanks to the catalyst role of psychology.