BARI – The “InCittà Bari 2024” project was presented this morning in the council chamber of Palazzo di Città, promoted by the tourism promotion association InCittà Bari and sponsored, among others, by the Municipality of Bari, Municipality V, Metropolitan City of Bari, Regional Council of Puglia, Consular Corps of Puglia, Basilicata and Molise, Confindustria Bari – BAT (Tourism section), Bari Chamber of Commerce, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Port System Authority of the Southern Adriatic Sea, Ferrotramviaria spa , AQP and the Basilica San Nicola.
The project idea is to create a synergy between the local tourism sector in order to promote places of culture, the museum centers present in the city and useful services; through the creation of a multifunctional map, both in paper format – available at info points, participating accommodation facilities, trains and taxis – and digital, available on the website www.incittabari.it, which is consequently structured as a container of information cultural, social-touristic and commercial benefits of the Apulian capital.
The meeting with the press, in the presence of the municipal councilor for Culture, was attended by the president of InCittà Luciano Saracino, the prior of the Basilica of San Nicola Father Giovanni Dtante, the president of Confindustria Bari-BAT and honorary consul of the Netherlands Massimo Salomone, the manager of Telebari’s sports services Enzo Tamborra, the president of the southern Adriatic Sea port system authority Ugo Patroni Griffi and the vice-rector of the University of Bari Grazia Paola Nicchia.
Media partners of the project are La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno, Telebari, Radiobari, Pepe Graphic, Bar Project Academy, Bariora.it and Under The Star International Film Festival.
“This project – he explained Luciano Saracino – arises from our belief that Bari, with its culture and its thousand-year history, has the right to be valued and represented in the world at the best of its qualities. The multifunctional paper and digital map, the essence of the project, is complete and easy to consult, and proves to be an indispensable tool for both internal and external users, i.e. tourists, who for years have constituted the lifeblood of the city itself. For this reason we have called together the best energies of the territory, the institutions, the cultural actors and the entrepreneurship of excellence to better develop a sector, that of tourism, which is at the center of the daily life of the people of Bari, and ultimately , create a synergy between culture, specifically the city’s museum centers, and services useful to tourists, such as public transport and accommodation facilities”.
Father Giovanni Distante he focused on the importance that the Patron Saint has for our community: “San Nicola’s – he recalled – is one of the most important itineraries contemplated by the project. Our Basilica is not simply an architectural example of Apulian Romanesque art but for a thousand years it has been a symbol of the cultural identity of Bari and, together with the Nicolaian Museum and the Archive, it deserves the maximum attention of historians and scholars”.
Enzo Tamborra he underlined that “the Telebari television station is the heritage of Bari and has been close to Bari and the people of Bari for half a century, informing with competence and precision on everything that happens in the city every day, trying to keep up with the times. We have enthusiastically joined this initiative because we want to record and analyze the changes of a city which, until recently, was certainly not considered to have a tourist vocation, and which now, in the streets, sees people of all nationalities mixing together”.
Maximus Solomon he commented that “we industrialists are trying to intercept the explosion of tourist interest in Bari and its beauties, a city that is rapidly evolving but which has nevertheless remained true and authentic. The interactive map will certainly help hoteliers to provide useful and detailed information to tourists on the places of greatest interest.”
Ugo Patroni Griffi he observed that “many tourists, cruise passengers and travelers who reach the port of Bari – around 600 thousand people a year – despite the existence of technologies, use paper maps to orient themselves, probably because they are considered more intuitive in consultation. It is therefore appropriate to provide the traveler with a physical tool and, among other things, we, the people of Bari, invented the maps when, after the translation of the bones of Saint Nicholas, it was necessary to find a way to let the pilgrims know where they had been placed ”.
He concluded Grazia Paola Nicchia, highlighting that “our University is closely linked to the world of tourism and offers its contribution by providing, for example, in the study plans, three-year and master’s degree courses which focus on both the humanistic and economic areas, as well as courses postgraduate training, masters and short masters. Last year we also entered into an agreement with the regional tourism agency precisely to intercept the training needs of the tourism sector”.
