European Silk Road: Event to celebrate one year΄s activities
CORFU. There will be a special event on Monday 2nd July at 19:00 in the Old Fortress to present the results of the European Silk Road’s activities in its first year.
Corfu has been a member of the international network for one year now – following in the footsteps of Marco Polo from Venice to the heart of the Mediterranean. The beginning of July is the first anniversary of the first cultural route dedicated to the European Silk Road – the innovative international network European Silk Road – Marco Polo Routes, which includes towns and organizations mainly in the Adriatic-Ionian region but also extending to the Aegean. The network was created on the initiative of the European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG) Marco Polo System GEIE, based in Venice, following in the tradition of the European project VeRoTour (Venetian Routes Tour) and based on the thematic pillars and priorities of the strategies of EUSAIR, UNWTO and the Council of Europe.
The sailing boat ‘Arina’ has set off from Venice again this year heading for new destinations. Following the Dalmatian Coast, it will pass by Corfu and other Ionian Islands, the Peloponnese and Crete. In Corfu, the most ‘Venetian’ of the destinations, the local authority will meet with Marco Polo System GEIE at the Old Fortress on 2nd July for a presentation of the results of the European Silk Road’s activities in its first year. The open event will take place on Monday 2nd July at 19:00 in the Old Fortress.
It was on 6th July, 2017 at the Venetian Mandraki below the Old Fortress that the Mayor of Corfu, Kostas Nikolouzos, signed the accession to the network.
Following that there were another 25 members from Greece, Italy, Croatia and Albania, including the Forum of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce, the Foundation of the Hellenic World, the Municipalities of Pilos, Monemvassia and igoumenitsa, Assonautica Italiana, the Municipalities of Crotone (Calabria) and Nicosia, Sicily, other town networks, the international culinary school MedCooking School as well as various development companies and cultural centres. The network has already shown the importance of this type of organization in the promotion of themes that are part of European development policy regarding local development, sustainable tourism, international cooperation, local products and above all, the promotion of cultural heritage.
Four of the activities so far, which had a great impact in the local media of the countries in which they took place, are the following. The first – the MedTaste project – ‘starred’ Corfu with the chef Marina Beska.
This was a culinary journey in Magna Grecia, Southern Italy presenting traditional dishes and the history of Corfu cuisine, with the participation of the top Italian publishing company ‘Einadi’.
Another two activities were ‘Malvasie senza confini’ and ‘Olio, Oliva, Civiltà’, where municipalities and associations of local producers from Monemvassia and Pylos Nestoros came together with similar municipalities and organizations, including the largest Italian association of producers Coldiretti and the educational centre Archivio di Stato in Venice.
The fourth activity was the pilot project MedSeeds which aims to bring together Greek and Italian bodies involved in the revival of ancient traditional methods of cultivating the land and local production.
Another positive development was the involvement of the Marco Polo System in the Corfu Food and Wine Festival with the participation of one of the most important chefs in traditional Venetian cuisine.
“Cultural diplomacy and continuous research are of major importance in making the Adriatic and the Ionian even more attractive worldwide – not just for their history and sights, but as centres for innovation and sustainability and a high level of sustainable tourism. This is the basic aim of the European Silk Road.” Said the President of the Marco Polo System Pietrangelo Pettenò.
Members of European Silk Road – Marco Polo Routes:
Founder and manager: Marco Polo System EEIG Venice
Municipality of Corfu [Greece]
Municipality of Pylos – Nestoros [Greece]
Municipality of Monemvasià [Greece]
LIDU – Lega Italiana dei Diritti dell’Uomo [Italy]
Fondazione Ars et Labor [Croatia]
Assonautica Italiana [Italy]
AIC Forum – Adriatic & Ionian Chambers of Commerce [Italy]
Biennale Habitat – Mediterraneo Patrimonio dell’Umanità [Italy]
Fondacioni Europa [Albania]
Zaklada Europa [Croatia]
Comune di Gradara [Italy]
Unione dei Comuni Pian del Bruscolo [Marche Region, Italy]
Med Cooking School di Ceglie Messapica [Italy ]
Municipality of Igoumenitsa [Greece]
Foundation of the Hellenic World [Greece]
Marco Polo Network [synergy for Marco Polo He.Ro.]
Nicosia - Pro loco [Italy]
Municipality of Vodnjan-Dignano [Croatia]
Italia Nostra Sicilia [Italy]
Enna – Pro loco [Italy]
Municipality of Nicosia [Italy]
Municipality of Calascibetta [Italy]
Municipality of Sperlinga [Italy]
Istituto di Agraria Minutoli – Cuppari, Messina [Italy]
Local Action Group South Istria [Croatia]
Municipality of Crotone (Italy)
