Interpreting European Industrial Heritage in mountain areas: fostering slow and scattered tourism around mines and textile industries along the rivers of Bergamo valleys

The chapter provides readers with a historical and territorial analysis of mine heritage and its importance in mountain areas productivity along the centuries mostly concerning iron and other metal mines. It then moves to the analysis of the mining heritage in the Region Lombardy and its provinces presenting some case studies concerning several mining and industrial sites in Lombardy, and it combines the understanding of industrial past via bibliographic research and field observation of industrial mines, focused on heritage and destination development of the valleys located in the Province of Bergamo. A focus on the case study of Scalve Valley is made, as it is the most productive mining valley of the area, showing the variety of material and immaterial heritage. For this case study, a methodology based on participatory and co-creative approaches is presented, in order to develop sustainable and scattered itineraries able to valorize these important sites and renovate them for new functions. Mines and industrial architecture sites need to be managed and promoted today for their role in the interpretation of industrial heritage in a long historical perspective, and for enhancing a form of slow and scattered tourism along the mountain valleys.