On 29 April, the Municipality of Fidenza, lead partner of the Detour project, presented the 6th edition of the Francigena Fidenza Festival at a press conference in Bologna. The festival will take place on 5 - 10 May and will once again offer a rich programme of activities aimed at promoting the Via Francigena, walking tourism and the communities connected to it.

Walks, presentations, talks and conferences will be at the heart of these days, bringing together walkers, local stakeholders, institutions and visitors from Fidenza and the surrounding areas. Every year, the festival attracts hundreds of people interested in slow tourism, cultural heritage and the development of walking routes.

During the press conference, the Fidenza Mayor and the Councillor for Culture underlined the importance of strengthening services along the walking routes network, in order to make the experience more accessible, welcoming and sustainable for travellers and local communities alike.

Simona Spinola, AEVF Communication Manager, who is in charge of the Detour events in Italy and the project’s communication activities, also highlighted the strong connection between the Municipality of Fidenza and the European Association of the Via Francigena ways. This long-standing cooperation continues through important initiatives such as Detour, which supports companies, stakeholders and service providers linked to walking routes by offering training opportunities and access to funding.

The DETOUR project is currently having an open call for financial support aimed at collaborative projects developed by tourism SMEs and related stakeholders. The call supports partnerships working on innovative, sustainable and digital solutions to strengthen tourism ecosystems along the project walking routes, with grants ranging from €15,000 to €25,000 per project and a total budget of €800,000. Projects must be developed by small consortia and will focus on areas such as green transition, digitalisation and resilience in tourism.

The call is open until 1 June. Full details are available at this link

[Credits: AEVF]