DIGITAL ITINERARIES FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF GEOTOURISM

Module STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY

At the end of the course, the student will be able to act as a bridge between what is observed in the field and what is needed by the digital team (software house, database managers, web-GIS and geotourism app developers). They will learn to read a hiking map, to recognize at an elementary level the most evident geosites and geological structures, and to collect essential information. From this information, they will be able to derive the indicators useful for defining hiking and geological difficulty. To the digital team they will deliver not only data, but an already narrated and organized product: tracks, points, photos, notes, and cards. A product capable of speaking both to the curious tourist and to the professional, with rigor, charm, and immediacy.
Finally, the following outcomes are expected:

· Knowledge and understanding: “Knowledge of sedimentary, tectonic, magmatic and metamorphic geological processes and the main methods for reconstructing their evolutionary history.”

· Independent judgment: “Ability to make motivated decisions in the presence of complex problems.”

· Communication skills: “Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams.”

· Learning ability: “Ability to update periodically.” “Ability to integrate new knowledge in operational contexts.”

Cartographic and conceptual preparation – Reading of hiking maps, regional technical maps, orthophotos, and digital terrain models. Students learn to recognize scale, legend, contour lines, trails, spot heights, CAI symbols, geosites, and GPX tracks. Itineraries, geological stations, and working hypotheses are defined.

Field recognition – Field trips on routes already developed by the instructor, with direct observation of geological structures in the different geological domains of eastern Sicily (with particular attention to the Etnean volcanic complex). Students use compass, GPS, smartphone, paper or digital survey forms, photos, voice notes, and sketches. They acquire the fundamental elements for a preliminary and elementary recognition of geological structures – stratification, attitudes, folds, faults, overthrusts, fractures, foliations, contacts, unconformities. The goal is not specialist mastery, but the ability to grasp their essential features. At the same time, they collect the indicators useful for defining hiking and geological difficulty.

Return and delivery to the digital module – The data collected are organized, cleaned, and structured into an information package intended for the instructor who develops the second part of the course, dedicated to GIS software and geotourism apps. What is delivered is not just raw data, but an already narrative and scientific product: GPX tracks, waypoints, attribute tables, photos, descriptive cards, multi-level texts, and metadata. The module is organized in small groups, with rotation of roles: cartographer, structural surveyor, photographer, narrator, data manager. This fosters student autonomy, transforming them from simple observers into designers of geotourism data.

The course is developed as an open-air experiential laboratory, where every track on the map (and every experience in the field) becomes a building block for the final digital project. The 18 hours are divided into three closely interconnected macro-modules, designed to transform the student from a simple observer into a designer of geotourism data:

MODULE 1 – FROM MAP TO GIS: THE DIGITAL EYE ON THE TERRITORY

MODULE 2 – IN THE FIELD: RECOGNIZING STRUCTURES IN DIFFERENT GEOLOGICAL DOMAINS

MODULE 3 – FROM SICILIAN GEOSITES TO THE MULTI-LEVEL DIGITAL CARD

Contribution of the course to the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:

GOAL 12: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Target 12.b Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products

• Course materials provided by the instructor are available on the course website.

The exam is held orally on topics from the syllabus in order to ascertain the full acquisition of knowledge and the ability to apply it to the subjects covered by the course. Criteria for awarding the final grade:

The assessment of the exam will be linked not only to the acquisition of specific knowledge but also to the ability to summarize results and the ability to present, with appropriate use of technical-scientific language, the theoretical foundations, the methodological approach, and the results achieved.

The verification of learning may also be carried out remotely, should conditions require it.

N.B. Information for students with disabilities and/or SLD (Specific Learning Disabilities)
To guarantee equal opportunities and in compliance with current laws, interested students may request a personal interview in order to plan any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures, based on the educational objectives and specific needs.
It is also possible to contact the CInAP reference professor (Centre for Active and Participatory Integration – Services for Disabilities and/or SLD) of our Department, Prof. Elena Commodari – elena.commodari@unict.it

1. Ability to decode the landscape through its information layers

2. Visual recognition of geological elements for the casual tourist; simple genetic interpretation of eruptive processes for the enthusiast

3. Ability to draft a technical dossier for the digital development team