This thesis investigates the relationship of regional food products in the tourist home country with destination marketing and management at the example of South Tyrol. South Tyrol was chosen as research area, because the 2 sectors have, on their own, a big standing in the region as well as a cooperate in many different ways. This has led to a symbiosis inside and outside the destination, making it an interesting area to research. While the interplay of the culinary assets of a destination with tourism within the destination is increasingly recognized, developed and used by researchers, planners, companies and authorities, the possible relationship of these sectors outside the destination remains an under-researched area. As Alderighi et al. (2016) found out in a study, an (empirical) connection between availability of local specialities in the tourist home (markets) and the intention of (re-)visit the place is evident. Therefore, this thesis uncovers different tools and mechanisms in (destination) marketing and management for the incorporation of regional food products in the tourist home country. Additionally, experts from the sectors of food and tourism, DMO, will share their considerations and limitations. Theory and practice will be opposed, where as the concepts of “region branding” and “sensory destination marketing” will be elaborated.

Die Arbeit besteht aus 17 Einzelstudien, die in engem Zusammenhang mit den vom Verfasser bearbeiteten Editionsbänden der ‚Acta Cusana‘ entstanden. Basierend auf den Materialien und Kommentaren der Edition analysieren sie vielfältige Probleme der spätmittelalterlichen Lebenswelt und erschließen oft kaum bekannte Quellenbestände. Ein zentrales Anliegen verbindet die Studien: Es geht vor allem darum, die in der Forschung oft entrückte Figur des historischen Cusanus in die Kontexte seiner Lebenswelt zurückzuführen. Übersteigerte Exzeptionalität und vielfach behauptete Lebensfremdheit des genialen Denkers verstellten oft den Blick auf das Typische und zeitbedingt Repräsentative an den cusanischen Lebensbildern. Die Studien stellen sich damit oft gegen tief verwurzelte Forschungstraditionen, die bis weit ins 19. Jh. zurückreichen und Nikolaus von Kues als einen in seiner kirchenpolitischen und administrativen Praxis intellektuell unterforderten und gleichzeitig menschlich überforderten Kardinal und Bischof erscheinen lassen, dessen überstrenge und rücksichtslos unrealistische Reformvorstellungen aus dem Rahmen der eigenen Zeit fielen. Der chronologische Schwerpunkt der Studien liegt in den Brixner Jahren des Nikolaus von Kues (1452–1458), wobei Rückblenden in die früheren Lebensjahre stärkeres Gewicht zukommt als Vorgriffen auf die späteren römischen Jahre. Die Diözese Brixen unter Nikolaus von Kues darf als Musterfall einer spätmittelalterlichen geistlichen Landesherrschaft gelten. Der vielerorts spürbare Überlebenskampf gegenüber den weltlichen Nachbarn zeigt sich hier in besonderer Schärfe. Dabei verfolgte Cusanus keineswegs das unrealistische Ziel, den Grafen von Tirol aus dessen ererbten Machtpositionen zu drängen, sondern strebte vielmehr eine starke Verflechtung der geistlichen und weltlichen Herrschaftsbereiche an, die das bislang gängige Bild von der konfrontativen Arrondierung und Einkapselung geistlicher Territorien an der Schwelle zur Neuzeit in Frage stellt. / The volume consists of 17 individual studies, produced in close connection with the edition volumes of the 'Acta Cusana' edited by the author. Based on the materials and commentaries of the edition, they analyze diverse problems of late medieval life and explore often barely known sources. The studies are united by a central concern: above all, the aim is to return the figure of the historical Cusanus, who has often appeared remote in research, to the contexts of his lifeworld. The exaggerated exceptionalism and frequently claimed alienation from life of the brilliant thinker often obscured the view of what was typical and representative of the time in the Cusanian life portraits. The studies thus often challenge deeply rooted research traditions that reach far back into the 19th century and make Nicholas of Cusa appear as a cardinal and bishop who was intellectually underchallenged in his church political and administrative practice and at the same time overtaxed as a human being, whose excessive and ruthlessly unrealistic ideas of reform fell outside the framework of his own time. The chronological focus of the studies lies in the Brixen years of Nicholas of Cusa (1452-1458), whereby flashbacks to the earlier years of his life are given greater weight than forwards to the later Roman years. The diocese of Brixen under Nicholas of Cusa can be regarded as a model case of late medieval ecclesiastical dominion. The struggle for survival against the secular neighbors, which was noticeable in many places, is particularly evident here. Cusanus was by no means pursuing the unrealistic goal of forcing the Count of Tyrol out of his inherited position of power, but rather strived for a strong interweaving of the ecclesiastical and secular domains, which calls into question the previously common image of the confrontational consolidation and encapsulation of ecclesiastical territories on the threshold of the modern era.