Adxtur

The Schist Villages Network involves 27 villages and is a sustainable development project of a regional scope, promoted by ADXTUR – Agência para o Desenvolvimento Turístico das Aldeias do Xisto, in a partnership with 21 counties of the Centre Region and over 100 operators with businesses on this territory.

ADXTUR is in this fashion the joining of forces, both public and private, for the promotion of a territory, the criation of wealth through touristic services and the preservation of the culture, the heritage of the rural Inland Portugal. Through a coordinated development of this land, against human desertification, against oblivion. Through a coordinated development of this land, against human desertification, against oblivion.

ADXTUR is one of the partners of the international project “Application of eco-rehabilitation in the traditional architecture of the European Southwest”, supported by the SUDOE – INTERREG IV B Program.

The project, best known as ECO-ARQ, gathers Portuguese, Spanish and French partners and its mains objective is to promote sustainable rehabilitation of built heritage in touristic trails. n this context, ECO-AQR contributes to the safeguard of built heritage and local traditional know-how, enriching eco-rehabilitation best practices.

ECO-ARQ fits in the sustainable urban development axis and contributes to the valorisation of cultural heritage. The southwestern European territories have a traditional built heritage with high cultural and touristic interest.

Itinerant tourism plays a major role in the discovery of this exceptional built heritage It reinforces identity and notoriety and is an important vector for economic development, both for tourism and for the outlets it provides for the construction sector.

In addition, heritage must be given particular care in terms of integration and valorisation in societies that are increasingly concerned about the environment and the preservation of natural and energy resources.