Come back there National Day of the Italian Historic Houses Association. The largest widespread museum in Italy reopens its doors Sunday 26 May: over 550 monuments including castles, fortresses, villas, parks and gardens along the entire peninsula will welcome free of charge all those who want to immerse themselves in timeless places, surrounded by the wonders of the Italian artistic and cultural heritage.
Among the Molise residences that are open to the public, it will be possible to visit in the province of Isernia, in Poggio Sannita, Palazzo Iacovone, a medieval residence dating back to the 13th century. which houses inside one of the oldest underground oil mills in Italy. In Agnone the Historical Museum of the Bell of John Paul II, in which the precious handmade bells of the prestigious Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli are exhibited, a thousand-year-old factory that historically supplies the bells to St. Peter’s Basilica. While in the province of Campobasso, in San Martino in Pensilis, will open its doors there Colonna House, historic home of the powerful Roman family.
The initiative, now in its fourteenth edition, is organized in collaboration with the National Association of Memory Houses, the Italian Federation of Friends of Museums (FIDAM) and Federmatrimoni ed Eventi Privati (Federmep) and has received the patronage of ENIT – National Tourism Agency and the Italian National Commission for UNESCO.
Private cultural heritage in Italy, with over 37 thousand properties identified, constitutes a fundamental part of the national historical, artistic and cultural heritage. Contrary to popular belief, in Italy there are over 8,200 private homes usually open to the public, far exceeding the number of Italian municipalities, which amount to 7,901: on average, more than one home per locality. We can therefore speak of one of the main resources for the country’s development, based on Italian history and identity and which favors the birth of new jobs and the creation of a sustainable future starting from its own memory. A development that not all countries can boast of. The Historic Houses are not only the largest widespread museum but also the largest cultural industry in the country, they create economy and social – as well as cultural – value in many extremely broad and complex supply chains, such as tourism, craftsmanship and restoration, especially outside of large cities.
In fact, 28% of the homes are located in municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants – which constitute 70% of Italian municipalities – over half (54%) are located in towns with less than 20,000 inhabitants and 31.3% in peri-urban areas or outside cities. Furthermore, more than one home in three appears to be within a historic village, one in four in a rural area. Residences are non-relocatable assets that generate social value and an economy inextricably linked to the territory. If adequately valorised, they can therefore represent a stimulus for the restart of small municipalities, guaranteeing a positive return for local productive activities which are increasingly in difficulty. The internal areas – equal to 58% of the country, where 13 million people live – are increasingly poor and devoid of services due to a depopulation that goes well beyond the current demographic decline.
Not only that, in recent years there has been a growth in the spending capacity of short-medium range tourism: proximity tourism in the villages represents an additional opportunity to enhance and preserve the cultural and natural heritage of these places, but also to encourage the development of local communities, as it stimulates the creation of small businesses and the creation of cultural initiatives. This phenomenon also allows the development of new employment opportunities in the various production chains which are inextricably linked with realities such as historic homes – from tourism to craftsmanship, from agriculture to winemaking, up to the world of event organization and conferences.
The National ADSI Day therefore represents a unique opportunity to raise awareness among civil society and institutions of the role that historic homes play for the socio-economic fabric of the country, as well as to rediscover Italian beauty.
It is necessary to book your visit to go to the chosen residence. Visit the website https://www.associazionedimorestoricheitaliane.it/eventi-dimore/414406/xiv-giornata-nazionale-domenica-26-maggio-2024-clicca-qui/?lan=it for more information.
