A draft law has been presented to join the association, with an annual fee of €8,000. The aim is to promote historic and cultural itineraries, starting with the 110-kilometre route between Rimini and La Verna.
A draft law to allow the Emilia-Romagna Region to join the Association of the Ways and Paths of St Francis (Associazione Vie e cammini di Francesco)—a body based in Assisi that coordinates the development of a national network of historic and cultural-tourism itineraries linked to the figure of St Francis. This is the proposal of the regional government, presented by the Tourism Councillor Roberta Frisoni during the Culture Committee, chaired by Elena Carletti.
Joining, as provided for by the draft law, would entail paying an annual fee of €8,000 to enter the association and take part in the activities of coordinating and promoting the itineraries.
The initiative fits into the regional policies for promoting slow tourism and the cultural and landscape heritage, with the aim of also supporting the economy of the territories crossed by the routes.
Among the itineraries involved is the Way of St Francis from Rimini to La Verna, a 110-kilometre route divided into five stages, between Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany. The path connects places linked to the historical presence of Francis of Assisi, including San Leo, up to Monte della Verna, in the Tuscan Apennines.
Any entry into the association would allow Emilia-Romagna to take part in a partnership that brings together regional and national institutions engaged in promoting the itineraries. The aim is to coordinate tourism and cultural promotion strategies, fostering greater integration among the territories involved.
“The Region is right to invest in promoting routes and paths that carry historical connections and resonance,” declared Carletti, recalling the Region’s previous membership of the association of the Via Francigena Ways.
The project comes in the year of the eighth centenary of the death of Francis of Assisi—an anniversary that also represents an opportunity for the tourism promotion of the territories crossed by the historic itineraries linked to his figure.
Italy Travel Experience Magazine Editorial Team