WONDROUS LANDS

ART, CULTURE AND TOURISM

SINLOC: A STUDY TO ATTRACT TOURISTS IN GARFAGNANA AND LUNIGIANA

Sinloc has developed a strategic proposal to define an integrated management system for castles and other cultural sites in Garfagnana-Lunigiana area, aimed at enhancing and strengthening cultural and tourism content and area offer, known as “Wondrous Lands”.

Garfagnana is an historic area in the province of Lucca, in Tuscany, located between the Apuan Alps and the primary range of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. It borders Lunigiana to the north. Lunigiana is another historic area administratively divided between Liguria and Tuscany, and it takes its name from the ancient Roman city of Luni, not far from where Sarzana stands today.

The study – developed for the Union of Garfagnana Municipalities – aims at defining a proposal that will strengthen entire area tourism appeal, by identifying ways to capitalize on the area’s value and integrate the region’s vast cultural and artistic heritage, resplendent with idyllic places to live or spend short holidays surrounded by nature and history.

Sinloc has defined the steps to facilitate planning and implementation phases required to create an offer package as a whole, and the organizational and procedural aspects required by local administrators and tour operators.

The project also enabled administrators to access the information they need to plan the area’s tourism and cultural offer by:

  • providing a complete and up-to-date overview of the characteristics of the area’s tourism demand and supply and the economic resources which could potentially be allocated to the tourism sector by adopting a tourism tax;
  • a map of the principal fortresses, castles and museums, detailing their organizational configuration and degree of accessibility.

In the long term, the implementation of this proposal is expected to increase tourism services, create more opportunities to emphasize the cultural heritage and generate direct and indirect economic benefits for the area.