Ruritage Heritage for Rural Regeneration

The main ambition of RURITAGE is the creation of an innovative rural regeneration paradigm based on Cultural and Natural Heritage, consolidating the role of culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development and contributing to economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability in rural areas.

By establishing a new heritage-led rural regeneration approach, RURITAGE aims to turn rural areas into sustainable development demonstration laboratories, through the enhancement of their unique heritage potential. Based on past research and experiences, RURITAGE has identified 6 Systemic Innovation Areas, namely Pilgrimage, Resilience, Sustainable Local Food production, Integrated Landscape Management, Migration and Art & Festival, and 11 Cross-cutting Themes, which represent the ways in which cultural heritage acts as driver for regeneration of a rural area and its economic, social and environmental development.