Background Oriolo del Fichi is a very attractive rural area in the Emilia-Romagna region, with a rich flora and fauna which makes it a real green getaway from Faenza and other urban areas located in its vicinity. However the potential of this area has suffered from poor upkeep of the natural assets and the unachieved exploitation of an old sand quarry. Moreover, some flora and fauna typical of this characteristic hillside have been completely wiped out due to mining. Objectives The T.O.R.R.E. (Tourism Organised Rural Recovery Ecology) project centred on land rehabilitation, environmental monitoring and the promotion of sustainable tourism initiatives, able to involve a large amount of relevant stakeholders. The activities were to include: the restoration of a former quarry lying near the Oriolo medieval village; improvement of a 2 hectares park that surrounds the ancient tower of Oriolo; a fertilisation process based on compost to enrich the soil; use of bio-indicators (e.g.: the Osmia panzer) to monitor the environmental quality of the territory (water, soil and air) before, during and after the project and; improving the tourist offer of Oriolo. All the actions were to be developed as part of an innovative programme of environmental education. This was to be designed for the inhabitants and visitors of the TORRE area, in order to make them feel more responsible vis-à-vis the surrounding natural and cultural resources. In co-operation with scientists and other conservation professionals, a series of initiatives to raise environmental awareness, specifically with a view to sustainable tourism, were to be carried out. Results The T.O.R.R.E. project appeared to have achieved the rehabilitation of approximately 9 hectares of land (the former “Salita” quarry area,located some 7 km from Faenza) and a moderate increase in tourist flows to the area. In addition, it managed to carry out several awareness and educational initiatives for the local inhabitants, and to set-up a bio-indicator system to monitor the environmental quality and verify the methodologies used, although the follow-up of this action is not clear. However, it failed to produce the anticipated employment increase in the area (55 employees, of which 25 part-time)and a clear methodology for transfer to similar situations at the European level. An ex-post evaluation visit on site is planned for 2007.