For more information about the World Heritage Day click here!
For more information about the Florence 2011 celebration  click here!

Aprirà domani l’Edizione 2011 del Salone dell’Arte del Restauro di Ferrara: ‘ il palcoscenico di riferimento del dibattito internazionale sulla tutela e la valorizzazione dell’architettura antica e moderna’.
Il Salone resterà aperto fino al 2 aprile presso il Quartiere Fieristico di Ferrara in Via della Fiera, 11
(44100 Ferrara, Uscita Ferrara Sud - Autostrada A13) e si compone di un programma  ricco di incontri, tavole rotonde, talking points! Tra questi, non perdere l’incontro-seminario:

‘Cupole nel Mondo quale opportunità di visibilità internazionale per le aziende operanti nel mondo del restauro’ 
Giovedi 31 marzo
h. 16:45 alle h. 17:30
Area Spazio Tempo – Padiglione 3
www.domesintheworld.com

Come celebrate the 150′ Anniversary of the Unification of  Italy, and you will also discover that Florence was the first capital of  Italy: at this link!

Otherwise, you can adopt an Italian monument here!

Do you know about other relevant initiative in Florence about this event??
Send it to us with your comments!!

With a view to the conference The 8 Life Beyond Tourism® Principles-from Theory to Practice to be held in Florence on February 20th, 2011 at the Life Beyond Tourism® Auditorium al Duomo , we are collecting relevant contributions by the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation‘s Experts, and we are glad to share them with you below.  Also,  please read more about the Life Beyond Tourism® Manifesto.

What: Conference The 8 Life Beyond Tourism® Principles-from Theory to Practice
When: February 20th, 2011; 10.00am – 1.00pm
Where: Life Beyond Tourism® Auditorium al Duomo, Via de’ Cerretani 54r, 50123 Florence, Italy

Contributions:

• New Opportunities of Tourism and Investment in Georgia – by Giuli Alasania, 2011 (Black Sea International University, Tbilisi, Georgia)
• Life beyond Tourism – Tourism belongs to life: Slovak example: Banská Štiavnica, City in UNESCO World Heritage List – by Egon Krák, 2011
• ELAICH – Educational Linkage Approach In Cultural Heritage, Heritage Education and Tourism – by Dr. Anna lobovikov-Katz,2011 (Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and ELAICH Coordinator)

- Post by Alessandra Brignola -

Georgia is the world’s leading reformer. Country’s impressive progress in improving business climate has been well documented in a number of international indices. Located at the crossroads of Europe and Central Asia, Georgia is a bridge connecting several important economic regions with a total population of more then 827 million people. It is a key link in the shortest transit route between Western Europe and Central Asia for transportation of oil and gas as well as dry cargo. The consistent macroeconomic policies, burst of entrepreneurial activity, growth in domestic consumption, rehabilitation of infrastructure and export growth are producing strong economic growth and make  the  stable macroeconomic environment for investment. Liberal trade regimes which include low tariffs, streamlined border clearance procedures, free industrial zones, simplified licensing and permitting procedures are those opportunities that Georgia suggests to foreign investors.
Apart from  the economic increase Georgia made a rapid growth in Tourism sector. There is a variety of possibilities to invest in tourism in Georgia starting from the Sea resorts, continuing to mountain , skiing, mineral waters and healthy, cultural and other type of tourism. Almost all regions of Georgia are rich with sight-seeing.
All those opportunities suggested by government make Georgia profitable for investment. These steps strengthens Georgia’s economy, drives it to  make  further democratic and economic reforms for European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

ELAICH is a EU-funded Project in the framework of Euromed Heritage 4 Programme, and it is aimed at awareness raising among the general public, and especially youth in cultural heritage, its values and its preservation and conservation. The project was started on February 1, 2009, and is to be concluded in 2012. The ELAICH multi-disciplinary international team is leaded by the Technion – Israel Institute of  Technology, and includes conservation experts from four Universities: University of Antwerp, NTUA – National Technical University of Athens, University of Malta and University Ca’ Foscari of Venice.
During the two years since the start of the project period, the ELAICH international team has developed an innovative educational approach, based on both research and teaching experience of its partners, and applied through lessons in class, laboratory exercises, in-situ “intellectual” and e-learning support.
The ELAICH course through its short and long versions, provides an introduction into the contemporary interdisciplinary field of the conservation of monuments, while it’s important focal point is developing a basic ability of on-site understanding of a historic building/ site, with a view of a possible future contribution of the ELAICH students to preservation of cultural (built) heritage, and especially on its post-conservation intervention stage – the stage of maintenance and monitoring.
Basic abilities  of understanding and perception of historic buildings, might be used by the ELAICH students in their everyday life in their immediate built and natural environment and their own cultural heritage, e.g. their schools,  homes and other buildings. Furthermore, they could apply it also during their vacations e.g. towards the cultural heritage of countries and regions other than their own.  At this point, the former/current ELAICH students could become a “contributing tourists” – contributing to the preservation of the other countries’ cultural heritage, e.g. through reporting deterioration phenomena observed by them at a historic site, etc.
During the project period, ELAICH partners actually teach in the ELAICH courses in Greece, Israel, Malta, Italy, Turkey and other Mediterranean countries. By the end of the project period, the ELAICH toolkit will be provided through the e-platform, and translations will be provided in several local Mediterranean languages, in addition to the English version. This will make it accessible to users in different countries, and facilitate awareness raising in cultural heritage and its preservation among the general public.

The issue as a spirit of  Life Beyond Tourism® Manifesto brought us several years ago a new ferment – not the idea which was still alive in Slovakia for a long time, but without any particular result could be seen – in the meaning: shining extract or definition of tourism experience in pretty good form well made for any kind to follow it. The most important value of this extract I supposed is that all articles of this definition must be realized on municipal or regional public life and policy simultaneously – together.

There is no better example as Italy when we speak about tourism – a country like a textbook, country as an open air museion…country full of historical monuments from different epoques… for everybody who is ready to recognize and study tourism phenomenon the best way is to have an Italian experience and knowledge  – together with the other examples from countries which succeded Italy in many forms how to be more civilized, well educated, intercultural and understandable: France, Great Britain, Benelux, Austria, Germany, Spain and many others.

There is no doubt the best way how to have a really good base for tourism development on municipal ( district ) level is political life and economical prosperity of the whole country – in the meaning of the high quality of general plan of action, statement of aims and ideals, public life and affairs, commerce… Appearence of this condition make possible all other things – which on the other hand cannot work without genius loci, spirit of the place with all cultural and historical values, enriched by traditional, unique art and knowledge. It seems after that we could be satisfied – there is everything which  …contributes to the dissemination and recognition of such universal values as respect and harmony among peoples, turning the tourist experience into a unique opportunity for knowledge and for the promotion of intercultural dialogue ( cit. Manifesto Life Beyond Tourism®).

The city of Banská Štiavnica could be a extraordinary example of a new vision of tourism in Slovakia in all aspects  – the area inscribed in the UNESCO World  Heritage List from 1993 includes a wide territory surrounding the town of Banská Štiavnica. The City Banská Štiavnica, the oldest mining town in Slovakia, played an important role as early as before the second third of the 13th century, i.e. before the period when the first town privileges granted in the Hungarian Empire were bestowed by King Bela IV. The town acquired its privileges not later than in 1238 or 1237. However, an existing document dated 1275 in Banská Štiavnica contains the oldest town seal  known to exist in Europe, picturing the town coat of arms with archaic mining tools…The richness of the minerals found here was the cause of the inhabitation of this hilly region.  The oldest documents about the earliest settlement connected with ore mining and processing are from the 10th to the 8th centuries B.C. (the late Bronze Age) – a hill-fort situated on Sitno Mountain. An agglomeration of settlements in this territory dating back to the 11th century has been confirmed by archeological finds in the town proper  as well as in the „Old Town” locality on Glanzenberg Hill. These finds also document further changes in settlements connected with intensification of mining and arrival of immigrants from the area of Tirol at the turn of the  13th century (the future town centre began to be urbanized, the fortified area guarded point was extened into a castle). In the 1330′s the town of Banská Štiavnica was of considerable area. There were two churches – three-naved basilicas, 500 metres apart from each other, which exhibited a high degree of building mastery  and their artistic late Romanesque style is an evidence of the influence of Cistercian architecture from Low Austria in the 12th century. The Dominicans, after more than 30 years of their stay out of the town due to the fear of the Tartar invasion, and when the town had further expanded, built a monastery near the church.

The character of the dispersed buildings around the main roads is documented by archeological finds in the ground plans of the one-room buildings as well as  those of production objects, incorporated into Gothic and Renaissance architecture. The great prosperity of the mines in the following two centuries, reflected by utulization of new progressive technologies of  mining and processing of precious metals, resulted in the densification of the town. The town developed on both slopes of later Trinity Square and along the road to Štiavnické Bane. The spread of the town southward towards Ilija and Svätý Anton is documented by the building of the hospital Church of St. Elizabeth in the poverty quarter as early as 1310.

In 1488 – 1492 the one nave Church of St. Catherine with late Gothic vaults was built in the town centre. This project was followed by the magnificent developing of Trinity Square, located below the old parish church, in the middle of  the 16th century. The church was rebuilt into its late Gothic form in 1497 – 1515. In 1526 the Hungarian army was defeated in the battle at Moháč by Turkish troops, which began moving towards the central Slovak mining towns.

In the building boom of the 16th century, the plans of the square developing and the town rebuilding overlapped with the defence safeguarding. The older burgher houses were rebuilt and enlarged, the pompous Renaissance palaces and the seats of the the Mining Chamber and the Head Chamber Earl’s Office were built. Dispersed buildings lining the main streets and the square began to take the existing form. In order to protect the town  against the Turks, the parish church was rebuilt into the fortification,  today known as the Old Castle.  The guard tower, the New Castle, was built in the western part of the town.

The area inscribed in the UNESCO World  Heritage List includes a wide territory surrounding the town of Banská Štiavnica, located in the centre of the Štiavnica Hills. The main is The Town Monument Reserve: The archeological researches have been implemented several times in the historic core since 1968, especially in connection with renewal of the important cultural monuments. Following are the specific localities which yielded  the archeological information: the ChamberCourt  at Kammerhofská Street 2 and 3, A. Kmeťa Street 20, Radničné Square 8, Holy Trinity Square 2, Radničné Square 16.   ( cit. after www.banskastiavnica.sk )

Banská Štiavnica has an extraordinary starting point for developing high level of tourism, tourism which represent an extraordinary example in every form – and especially in educational backround: in different objects of Higher Education Area there are several institutions ( traditional and new )in the city – the last one Academy of Music and Art were established just some weeks ago. Education is life– and the development of social life is the way to be more civilised – and it cannot be done except education, the same way as tourism.

Also view the presentation.ppt here