Cultural and Heritage Tourism in Italy

In the collective consciousness of much of the world’s culture tourists, Italy is seen as a tourist destination rich in art and history with a strong historical-monumental-artistic heritage. This heritage is a result of various historical periods which followed one another, beginning with the Roman Empire, with the spreading and imitation and of culture and lifestyle which was then dominant, passing through the Middle Ages, with its famous university cities which attracted students from throughout Europe and frequent pilgrimages to the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul in Rome in order finally to reach their apogee in the Renaissance, with its high artistic and literary expressions which have involved many aristocrats who came to visit the sites of classical culture and the ancient vestiges of the past on the Grand Tour. Even today, this image of Italy is so deeply rooted and widespread that at least 50% of foreigners who visit Italy do so mainly for cultural reasons. In many cases, the principle reason for travel is not cultural, but travellers still might visit an historical monument, a museum or participate in artistic or cultural events. Today, many visitors attempt to combine various types of motivation for travel, even for business, with cultural programmes.

An important feature of the Italian tourist world is its great variety from region to region and from city to city. Its principle attraction lies particularly in the abundance of places which evoke the past and its diversity even among nearby geographical areas. After the fall of the Roman Empire, numerous city states were created in the Middle Ages, each with its own lifestyle, customs, cooking and dialect. Therefore, a visit to the most famous cities, such as Rome, Florence and Venice, does not exhaust the cultural knowledge of Italy. At least 6,500 of the 8,500 Italian cities have their own local tourism offices (Pro loco) and boast a strong cultural offer worthy of being explored. At times, it is enough to excavate to find remains of ancient monuments. Many minor Italian cities have been defined as veritable open air museums on a part with the most famous capitals of culture.

As well as traditional hotels, there are many options which make it possible to enjoy a stay in these sites of cultural interest: self catering apartments, agriturismo farm stays, bed & breakfasts and a new and original formula which is called albergo diffuso. These are hotel structures located in various historical buildings of an ancient city centre inhabited with centralised services. This is a way to recover and give value to small towns of historical, artistic and architectural interest. Currently in Italy there are 52 such structures, located throughout the various regions, with a current availability of approximately two thousand rooms which will certainly increase in number. Thus, the old medieval city centres, part of Italy’s rich historical and cultural heritage, are flowering again, bringing a new way of making tourism, in which one feels part of the past and can enjoy the pleasure of a simple life far from the maddening crowds of the metropolis.

In recent years, the Italian State Tourist Board has tried to encourage the culture and heritage product associated with the art cities, historical-archaeological routes, the discovery of artistic and crafts treasures of minor centres, gastronomy, cultural events, festivals, concerts and performances. Moreover, with the financial support of the Italian regions, it has also managed the image of cultural destinations with PR campaigns in the major tourism markets, with themes such as “More Italy than ever” and “Italia opera unica”, as well as participation in the most important tourist trade fairs, workshops as Art Cities Exchange in Rome and 100 Cities Arts Events in Ferrara, the production of information material and support for marketing the tourist offer of the cities of culture.

I can say that it is precisely cultural tourism, encouraged by the internet and low cost flights, which has saved Italian tourism in recent difficult years. Indeed, whereas seaside tourism, particularly in some markets such as Germany, has decreased, with the exception of a slight return in 2006, cultural tourism is constantly increasing, and in the last three years has actually reached 25% of arrivals in cities such as Rome.