2' min read
2' min read
There is the museum of Sicilian costume and fashion in Mirto in the province of Messina and there is the Cinema Paradiso museum in Palazzo Adriano where Giuseppe Tornatore's film Nuovo cinema Paradiso was shot. These are two examples of precious presidia of history and culture that are part of the Network of Municipal Museums promoted by Anci Sicilia. An open worksite (one of the last municipalities to join was San Marco d'Alunzio in the province of Messina) that aims to enhance the cultural memory of the territories and support it with the objective of stimulating the supply chain, thus helping the local economic system. This is clearly stated on the dedicated Internet portal: 'The objective is to stimulate tourist flows and the fruition of little-known sites through a cultural operation that, by integrating services, skills and shared strategies, will try to overcome the lack of financial and personnel allocations and the difficulties in preparing communication plans'. So far, about eighty municipalities have joined for a total of over 200 museum facilities, but the number of members of the Network is constantly being updated.
"We are well aware,' explain Paolo Amenta and Mario Emanuele Alvano, president and secretary general of Anci Sicilia, 'how difficult it is to enhance the museum heritage of the municipalities on our island, especially those in small towns that do not have sufficient resources to promote the beauty of their territory in Italy and abroad. For these reasons we consider this initiative, which will involve the mayors of the 391 Sicilian municipalities also through the signing of a special agreement, to be important'. The project is ambitious and the heads of Anci Sicilia are working to strengthen the portal and launch other promotional initiatives: 'The constitution of the Network has the objective of promoting municipal museums and other realities of historical and cultural interest, favouring unified communication campaigns and, in the future, also the sale of a single digital ticket,' reads the Network's website. Maurizio Zingales, mayor of Mirto and president of the Coordination of Small Municipalities of Anci Sicilia, explains: "The Network of Museums represents, especially for small realities, an important opportunity to promote and enhance the enormous heritage that is often little known and to make it accessible to the general public. This initiative is being looked at with great attention, especially for the benefits it can bring to the most fragile local communities, such as those in inland areas: "We have started the project," says Alvano, "first of all with the creation of a portal that we are in the process of enhancing, and with the realisation of a couple of projects with the Department of Health and the Department of Cultural Heritage. But it is the perspective that interests us most: we are working on a major project and we plan to create a series of services around the network: QRCodes to orient visitors, audio guides, a renewed presence on the Internet'.
