The World Tourism Event in Assisi celebrates UNESCO sites as a means of fostering dialogue and mutual understanding
The 17th edition of the International Tourism Fair for World Heritage Sites is set to begin, with the aim of bringing together UNESCO destinations, international buyers and the general public
It was 1979, almost 50 years ago, when Italia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site was recognised: the rock art of Valcamonica, which preceded by one year the recognition of Rome’s historic centre and Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Last Supper’, in the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Milan. Since then, the number of UNESCO sites has risen to 62 in Italia and 1,273 worldwide, spread across 173 countries.
Italia is the country with the largest number of such sites: the most recent designation, last July, was the ‘system of communal theatres in central Italy between the 18th and 19th centuries’, comprising ten theatres in Emilia-Romagna, the Marche and Umbria. These are examples of ‘condominium’ architecture (a form of joint ownership between public bodies and groups of private individuals), marking the transition from venues of entertainment, reserved solely for the upper echelons of society, to public cultural institutions serving the community.
The World Tourism Event (WTE), the International Tourism Fair for World Heritage Sites, a travelling event which this year returns to Assisi for its 17th edition to coincide with the celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the death (or ‘Transit’) of St Francis.
The event will take place on 24 and 25 September in the historic Palazzo del Monte Frumentario, with the aim of weaving together the Franciscan values of peace, intercultural dialogue, the protection of creation and sustainability with tourism linked to World Heritage sites.
“From Assisi and Umbria, the WTE aims to revitalise a vision of tourism as a means of dialogue and mutual understanding , but also as a practical tool for the protection and promotion of local areas,” states the organising committee.
