On the "Rural Heritage": Contributions for the Clarification of a Concept

Abstract

It is the central objective of this text to discuss, in an essentially theoretical way, the concept of 'rural heritage'. To do so, a generic approach to heritage is taken in a broader sense, and then, gradually, to identify and analyze the dimensions and indicators, with empirical translation, underlying that concept. This reflection is finished trying to understand and discuss the place that the rural heritage - according to the conceptual scope that we try to demonstrate here - occupies in the scope of processes of local development, in particular in those that tend to operate it as a tourist resource, favorable to rural economies.