Digital Geo-Storytelling for an integrated sociotourist valorisation of complex territories: the case of the Phlegraean Fields

This paper explores the potential of digital geo-storytelling as an operational tool for the participatory enhancement of complex territories, through the experimental application of the experiential transect in the Phlegraean Fields. In a context marked by cultural stratification, environmental fragility, and infrastructural discontinuity, the proposed methodology combines physical landscape exploration with georeferenced storytelling, actively involving citizens and visitors in the co-creation of shared spatial knowledge. By integrating ArcGIS StoryMaps with co-mapping tools, three digital transects were developed in the municipality of Bacoli, merging geospatial data, perceptual observations, and multimedia content. As an extension of citizen science, this approach supports inclusive processes of learning, governance, and collaborative territorial planning, enhancing local awareness, fostering more sustainable tourism practices, and offering a replicable and adaptable framework for participatory spatial interpretation. In this perspective, the landscape is no longer seen as a static backdrop, but as a dynamic system of relations—collectively narrated, interpreted, and reimagined. The case study confirms the effectiveness of the digital transect as a critical interface between data, experience, and citizenship, providing a valuable tool to address the challenges of integrated valorisation in fragile landscapes.