The World In Florence
Heritage, Dialogue and Cultural Exchange
What is The World in Florence?
The World in Florence is an international initiative promoted by the Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco – Life Beyond Tourism, designed to enhance and communicate the world’s cultural expressions through dialogue, participation and shared experiences.
Developed as a five-year programme (2021–2025), the initiative brings together institutions, communities, students and professionals to explore cultural heritage as a living resource for dialogue, awareness and sustainable development.
Objects
The project aims to:
Encourage the interpretation and communication of local cultural expressions
Promote cultural awareness within communities
Enhance the international attractiveness of territories
Contribute to transforming tourism from a consumerist model into one based on inclusiveness, solidarity and intercultural dialogue
The Idea Behind the Project
The World in Florence was conceived in response to the global challenges highlighted during the pandemic, which revealed the fragility of social, cultural and economic systems.
In a time of isolation, the project emerged as a way to maintain dialogue between cultures, using digital tools and storytelling to connect people and places across distances.
Through the Life Beyond Tourism® model, the initiative promotes a vision of travel not as consumption, but as a meaningful encounter between people, cultures and identities.
From Florence to the World — and Back
The project develops through two complementary phases:
Florence in the World:
An international and travelling exhibition presenting Florence and Tuscany through the eyes of local communities, using images, narratives and digital technologies (including NFC) to create interactive storytelling experiences.
The World in Florence
The second phase brings the world to Florence: places, communities and cultural expressions from different countries are presented and shared, creating a space for exchange, dialogue and mutual understanding.
Together, these two phases form a circular programme, connecting territories and fostering a global network of cultural exchange.
A Global Network
The initiative is supported by the international Life Beyond Tourism network, including universities, institutions and the Info Point system active in multiple countries.
This network enables the project to:
connect local and global dimensions
share experiences across contexts
foster long-term collaboration between territories
Towards a New Model of Tourism
At the heart of The World in Florence is the idea of the conscious traveller.
This approach encourages visitors to:
engage with local communities
appreciate local production and craftsmanship
discover lesser-known cultural sites
move beyond “hit-and-run” tourism
The goal is to promote a form of travel based on respect, awareness and reciprocity, contributing to more sustainable and meaningful experiences.
A Growing International Platform
Over its five-year cycle, The World in Florence has progressively expanded, involving an increasing number of countries, institutions and cultural expressions.
The initiative represents today a platform for dialogue and exchange, where heritage becomes a tool to connect people and contribute to a shared vision of the future.
