Portofino, between elite tourism and depopulation

Abstract

The celebrity of Portofino is not derived from a recent operation of local marketing, but is rooted in solid naturalistic and geographical reasons. In the "boom" years Portofino's international fame, exclusively for luxury turism, has developed and established itself as spearhead of all the entire "Riviera del Levante". Parallel to this development opportunity, which replaced the traditional activities no longer profitable, we are witnessing a gradual and steady residents' abandonment of the city. The depopulation of the town of Portofino has been the subject of different analysis and evaluations, most of them negative but look at Portofino as a symbol of the power of rich people who are expelling the traditional inhabitants, it is, however, simplistic and reductive in comparison with the complexity of social and economic phenomena. This statement seems rather dictated by feeling, linked to a picturesque image of Italian villages which historical iconography has bequeathed to us. the paper reconstructs the main events related to the speculation of the sixties and the problems linked to territory management and environment preservation of "Tigullio" area, which still is under strong pressure due to mass tourism. Today in Portofino we are witnessing a common phenomenon to all the hinterland countries: "alive" at during part year and "frozen" during low season, as happens in most of the touristic localities close to large urban areas.