This work aims at identifying the territorial specificities of the EUSALP macro‐area, determining in particular its local peculiarities with respect to Europe in terms of territorial capital endowment – defined as the set of local, tangible and intangible, public and private, assets that constitutes the growth potentials of an area. This conceptual approach enables to highlight the relevance of specific growth assets for the building of a possible smart specialization strategy, where smart is intended in both an economic and territorial sense.