MATERA - Francis Ford Coppola, returned to his Bernalda in Basilicata, is one of the most famous together with Madonna and Lady Gaga but in the world there are about 80 million people who might want to find and celebrate their Italian origins through a trip to their parents' countries and grandparents.
Women and men who often have only heard of their land of origin and who would like to live even for a few days in those villages from which their ancestors left for new destinations in the world.
This tourism of the roots, which often shuns the most famous places and takes refuge in the villages, which is very different from person to person, which is full of memory, sometimes of tears and at the same time of happiness will be at the center of "Roots-in", the first international exchange of origins tourism to be held in Matera on 20 and 21 November and was presented to the foreign press in Rome (info on www.roots-in.com).
"It is a tourism on which we aim - says Roberta Garibaldi, managing director of Enit - and we will focus on it even more in view of the Year of the roots which will be in 2024. Already 6 million Italians return to Italy every year for this reason for a total of 60 million overnight stays for an expenditure of over 4.2 billion. It is important because it moves throughout the year (with a small peak in August) and also affects a lot of young people who want to rediscover their origins. average is 74 euros because you often sleep at relatives' homes and you lose the hotel component, the strongest origin is from all over South America (Argentina and Brazil first of all) but also the United States ".
"We are proud to host this scholarship for the first time in Matera - explains Antonio Nicoletti, general manager of Apt Basilicata - but we want all of Italy to participate. Often the return is linked to nostalgia, the word contains the Greek term nostos. (return) but we are working on opportunities, on emotions, on rediscovery. Personally I prefer to talk about origins tourism because origins are something generative, so we work so that in Italy opportunities are created from relational, genealogical, emotional ties of transforming into positive what was originally perhaps painful ".
"We will create a real passport of the roots that will give recognition to all these people - says Marina Gabrieli, National Coordinator of the Pnrr Turismo delle Roots Project - and will also provide them with travel facilities. We are talking about a pool of 80 million potentials in the world. tourists from the roots. It is very important to involve the territories that often do not have a real tourist offer dedicated to these travelers: for example, they need registry documents to reconstruct their history. We are committed to the creation of a network, in 2023 we will promote these initiatives abroad ".
Gabriele likes to say that "Italy has a moral duty towards Italians abroad,
who come from our country and have abandoned their land - he says - but always have an eye on it.
It is important to revive small villages often uninhabited but in the same way it is to give an opportunity to people who need to rebuild their bond with Italy.
In Scotland and Ireland they have already invested in these segments and have had very interesting results ". (ANSA).
