ISSUE N. 4 – FEBRUARY 2016

THE EXTRAEXPO WEEK January 15 –22, 2016

The project’s final conferences all over Europe

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The final conference intended to present the project’s results and to promote a fruitful discussion among the regional stakeholders regarding the potentialities and synergies between two important economic sectors in the region: the Marble Industry and Tourism. The conference was co-organized by Make it Better, University of Algarve – CRIA, and by: Spira -

Revitalização Patrimonial, dedicated to Heritage and Culture, managing the Shades of Marble Route, and by Alentejo Marmòris Hotel & Spa, an example of excellency for marble use.

Three were the main conference theme: The presentation of the study "Marble, the Divine Stone – Its extraction, trade and

use since the beginning of the humanity until the present", coordinated by UAlg and co-produced by all project’s partners;

The website www.marbleroutes.eu which provides information on marble routes in the regions involved in the partnership;

The final catalogue "Extra Expo - from EXTRAction to EXPOsition, a journey on how rocks become masterpieces", which presents interesting facts about marble throughout history, curiosities in each of the territories and beautiful photographs in a high quality publication.

The program, that counted with the presence of Turismo do Alentejo, ERT (the Regional Tourism Entity), included presentations from the Regional

Agency for Tourism Promotion (ARPTA), Make it

Better (miB), Spira, the University of Algarve and the Alentejo Marmòris Hotel & Spa. The audience was constituted by participants of the Public Administration, Local governments, Tourism operators, Industrial associations, business owners, researchers, other agents from Tourism and Industry, and the local press. Both the speakers and the audience enriched the conference by bringing new insights and relevant information to both sectors, promoting the available channels and resources, and discussing new ideas for future cooperation opportunities

15. 01. 2016 PORTUGAL – Alentejo Marmòris Hotel & Spa, Vila Viçosa

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The conference included a guided tour inside this unique hotel which is like a real museum dedicated to marble and also a guided tour to a marble quarry and a factory in the surroundings, making part of one of the itineraries being promoted by EXTRAEXPO.

22. 01. 2016 BELGIUM – Espace culturel Victor Jara, Soignies

The mayor of Soignies, Mr Marc de Saint Moulin, opened the final conference, which more than a dozen of stakeholders from marble quarries, museums, associations and press attended. Mr de Saint Moulin underlined the economic importance of the stone extracting industry in the region of Soignies. The nearby bluestone quarries have shaped the region and its memory. Especially the conference venue, the cultural hall Victor Jara, in the middle of the historical centre of Soignies, is a building covered with rough stone crust which takes shape as a rocky topography. Mrs. Fabienne Winckel, assistant mayor in charge of tourism and economic affairs, welcomed the audience and marked the project as an exemplary model for national and international cooperation. Mrs. Winckel highlighted the benefits all actors involved can receive by raising awareness and increasing visibility of the – some lesser-known – regions and their “hidden secrets”.

Mrs Heuer, project manager at AHK Debelux, gave an overview about the project’s history, the involved partners in 5 countries as well as the activities developed. She presented the study and the resulting development of tourist marble itineraries in each partner region. Mrs. Heuer also displayed the marketing material and introduced the audience to the EXTRA EXPO web page www.marbleroutes.eu and to the virtual tour.

The conference was highly evaluated by the participants and the subject that stood out was how to ensure the continuity of the project after its official conclusion. Since there is interest from local stakeholders, academics, institutional and business operators, the challenge for the future will be to find ways to continue, upgrade and eventually improve the tools developed during the project and to find new opportunities for collaboration.

Florence Peltier, curator of the marble museum in Rance, subsequently presented the two Belgian itineraries – “Red Marble and Beer Route” and “Bluestone and Belgian Chocolate Route” – while stressing the importance of industrial heritage in connection with tourism. Mrs. Peltier raised the audience’s awareness on the close relations between each participating stakeholder and the benefits resulting for each one of them.

During the following question and answer session, the EXTRAEXPO project received appreciation and encouragement and ideas to complement the developed routes were shared and discussed.

22. 01. 2016 SPAIN – FITUR, Madrid

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The final conference took place on the 21st and on the 22nd of January during the participation of the Spanish partners to FITUR (the international tourism trade fair in Madrid). On the first day, a public conference was held at the stand of the Almeria Province and saw the participation of the President of the Association of Municipalities of Valle del Almanzora, Mayor of Macael, the President of the Council of Province of Almeria and the Delegate of Tourism in the regional government of Andalusia.

The second day the public conference was held at the stand of Turespaña (the National Agency responsible for promoting Spain as world tourism destiantion) in order to expand the scope of dissemination. The participants were the deputy general manager of Marketing Foreign in the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, the President of the Association of Municipalities of Valle del Almanzora, the Mayor of Macael, the manager of Almaden Mining Park (that has been visited by all partners in order to understand how it is possible to convert an industrial site in tourism attraction) and General Manager of tourism in the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha. Both sessions have been attended by media, travel agents, tour operators, tourist agents and other stakeholders.

During the conferences the discussion was focused, first of all, on the role of the European Union in promoting tourism. Later the presentation of project results were illustrated. EXTRAEXPO is a new opportunity for tourism development through the creation of a thematic itinerary and for a new local development model that turns traditional industrial areas into sustainable tourist destinations.

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Also it was presented the Almaden Mining Park as an example of good practice, and the outputs of the project: the tourism Atlas Marble, the study "The Marble Divine Stone", the website www.marbleroutes.eu, local routes and the transnational virtual itinerary. The conference was a great success and impact, which we hope will be reflected in an increase in the number of tourists visiting the EUROPEAN MARBLE ROUTE.

22. 01. 2016 ITALY – MuSA, Pietrasanta

The final conference “Marble the divine stone” has been held, in Italy, on the 22nd of January (at the Virtual museum of sculpture and architecture - MuSA, in Pietrasanta). The conference has been organised in order to present the final results of the project and its main output. Valeria Giusti and Katia Gerunda, together with the director of Lucca Promos Massimo Marsili, welcomed the participants coming both from public and private organizations. In fact, the conference has seen the participation of local stakeholders such as marble enterprises, organizations for the promotion of tourism, organizations for the promotion of the territory, associations of businesses, representatives of quarry associations and so on.

Valeria Giusti, that illustrated to the audience the main results of the project, opened the conference. In particular, she talked about the final tangible outputs that have been created during this year and a half: the website; the Study “Marble, the divine stone ”; the “Collection of best practices in project partner countries” and the final catalogue (which will be distributed to local stakeholders and to local museums).

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Katia Gerunda explained the tourist itineraries elaborated during the project and published on the website. Each country has elaborated some tourist itineraries following the Guidelines elaborated by an external expert and trying to respect the title of the project “from EXTRAction to EXPOsition”. In fact, the tourists will have the opportunity to lose themselves in the marble world. The journey starts from visiting a quarry (where possible), continues discovering an enterprise that works marble blocks or an artisan workshop where a sculptor gives life to marble blocks and ends by visiting a museums (where masterpieces are exposed) or cities considered open air museums (where it is possible to admire monuments or buildings made in marble).

At the conference has been invited also Alessandro Crociata (expert on tourism _ Campus Foundation) that had the task to illustrate how disused industrial sites could become leverage for the tourist development of territories. The latter could become competitive on international markets exploiting their assets only if all actors involved work together and not in competition. The director of Lucca Promos Massimo Marsili acted as moderator in the final part of the conference, by giving the possibility to the audience to take the floor.

A lot of participants asked to speak and give their feedback on the conference and on the project. The interventions have been unanimous: it is necessary to continue the work done in order to promote the results and most of all the tourist itineraries developed. All participating local stakeholders agreed on the fact that these kinds of project are necessary for territories suffering for loss of jobs and reshaping of the sector. Tourism could give marble sector a different and new opportunity of development but only if all involved actors, at different level, put together their different expertise for a common goal.

For more information, please write to: progetti.comunitari@lu.camcom.it

This project is co-funded by the European Union

22. 01. 2016 GREECE – European Museum of Bread in Varnavas, Attica

The Greek final conference for the project EXTRAEXPO, was held with great success on the 22nd of January at the European Museum of Bread in Varnavas, Attica and has been organized by the Folklore Company of Varnavas – City of Marathon. The conference was attended by local and regional officials, tour operators and tour guides from Attica, representatives of marble industries, marble artists, journalists, scientists and students.

The President of the Folklore Company of Varnavas, Mrs. Milea Pappa presented the purpose and the results of the project. The project’s website was presented by the Vice-President of IDEC, Mrs. Xenia Kronopoulou. Subsequently, Mrs. Anna Papadopoulou, research fellow of the Folklore Company, presented the Greek itinerary entitled: “THOUSAND YEARS OF HISTORY”. The keynote speech about “The marble in Attica” was developed by the renowned Historian and Archaeologist, Mr. Nikolaos Klitsikas.

A peculiarity of the conference was the marble sculpture exhibition of artists, Mr. Nikos Benos - Palmer and Mrs. Marina Anastasopoulou-Katsikis, in the exterior and interiors of Varnavas Museums. The conference was meant to mobilize thematic tour operators from our country (especially from Attica) to enable foreign visitors to discover and enjoy the wonderful world of marble in Attica and in Europe. This action will be followed by others in cooperation with institutions and municipalities in Attica.

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