The increasing concentration of cultural tourism in globally iconic destinations has transformed soft power from a strategic asset into a structural liability. In Tuscany, the overreliance on primary art cities such as Florence and Pisa has accelerated overtourism, eroding both heritage integrity and resident quality of life. This paper investigates how secondary cities can be repositioned as autonomous soft power generators through strategic heritage rebranding, thereby enhancing the resilience and sustainability of the regional tourism system. Adopting a qualitative comparative case study approach, the research examines three Tuscan secondary cities—Pistoia, Lucca, and Arezzo—selected to represent distinct rebranding archetypes: institutional validation, event-led hybridization, and narrative-based positioning. Data were triangulated from regional policy documents (2018–2024), longitudinal tourism statistics from ISTAT, and digital sentiment analysis of user-generated content from major travel platforms. The findings reveal that successful rebranding hinges on the cultivation of differentiated cultural narratives rather than the replication of primary-city models. Pistoia leverages institutional recognition to legitimize its cultural value, Lucca deploys large-scale cultural events to attract global attention, and Arezzo utilizes cinematic and artisanal narratives to anchor slow-tourism appeal. Collectively, these strategies demonstrate that secondary cities can function as independent cultural hubs rather than peripheral spillover destinations. The study proposes the “Authentic Periphery Model” as a conceptual framework for redistributing tourism flows while preserving heritage authenticity. The results contribute to soft power theory by extending it to sub-national contexts and offer policy-relevant insights for regions seeking to balance tourism growth with cultural sustainability.
Keywords: Soft Power, Place Branding, Cultural Heritage, Secondary Cities, Sustainable Tourism, Overtourism, Regional Identity, Experience Economy, Italy, Tuscany