ITALIAN GOVERNMENT PROMOTING TOURISM IN ABRUZZO TOWNS
Recently the Italian Government launched the Cammini d’Italia initiative to encourage tourism in lesser-known areas and reduce the number of tourists in overwhelmed cities such as Venice. In Italy, countless picturesque towns and landmarks go unseen, because tourists rarely know they exist, so the new initiative is designed to fix this.
To restore balance, the Italian Ministry of Culture (Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali e del Turismo) has launched an online portal, called Cammini d’Italia, that maps historic itineraries beyond traditional tourist routes. For now, the digital atlas counts 41 entries, ranging from the most famous, such as the Appian Way and the Via Francigena, to the more obscure, like Dante’s Walk (on the sites where the poet was exiled and where he wrote “The Divine Comedy”), to the Peace Way, retracing battles from WWI. Sites in Abruzzo are also included.
The Cammini d’Italia has a section specifically about Abruzzo, “Un Viaggio nella Storia D’Abruzzo” which mentions its archaeological patrimony, its monuments, and its scenic beauty. Besides the Valle Peligna and the Valle del Saggitario, the web portal mentions Parco Regionale Naturale Sirente-Velino, Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga, Parco Nazionale della Majella, le Gole di San Venanzio, le Grotte di Stiffe, l’Altopiano di Navelli, la Piana di Campo Imperatore and Valle del Tirino. In order to be featured in the collection, each itinerary had to meet 11 criteria, such as having very clear signage, services in the near proximity, an up-to-date website, and, very importantly, a safe path.
“Tourism is a great resource for us, and I like to think of tourists as temporary citizens, which I believe we all aspire to when we travel,” according to Francesco Palumbo, Director General for Tourism at the culture ministry. “So this is a great way to promote those unique yet deep experiences that one can have when visiting lesser-known sites, he said. “Eventually, by inviting and helping travelers to slow down, this atlas may also increase the average number of days that tourists spend in our country, which is currently between two and three.” For more details on the Abruzzo sites, please see the Cammini d’Italia website below which also has beautiful photos of Rocca Calascio and achaeological site of Amiternum. http://www.turismo.beniculturali.it/cammini/viaggio-nellastoria-dabruzzo/