Oct. 11 – ” I am now in a beautiful city: Genova. You walk on marble, everything is marble: stairs, balconies, buildings… Its buildings are close to one another: from the streets, you can see great painted and gilded ceilings.” The French writer Gustave Flaubert appreciated Genoa’s beauty and today there are many Italian and foreign tourists who admire it every day. With the registration in 2006 of “Genoa: the roads and the system of Rolli palaces” in the UNESCO World Heritage List, the Liguria region now boasts three heritage spots: Palazzi dei Rolli in the heart the city, the Beigua Park in the Genoese territory, and Portovenere, Cinque Terre and the Palmaria Islands, Tino and Tinetto in the province of La Spezia. Three treasures that, with their artistic beauty, wildlife and landscape, best interpret the character of the region. And now Genoa is preparing for a new “challenge,” as it takes its deserved spot among the 9 wonders of Italy. “Russian visitors are now the third largest market for tourism in Genoa. There is a connection between Moscow S7 Airlines and Genoa, with a 15,000 passenger incoming between late April and October. With ‘Mirabilia’ we want the Russians, increasingly curious and interested in Italian production and the country’s style and artistic heritage, to learn about 9 Unesco wonders that are not well known, but not for this are they of inferior quality,” says the president of the Genoa Chamber of Commerce, Paolo Odone, who participated today in Moscow, at the Italian Embassy, at the presentation of the “Mirabilia” project. The project is sponsored by the Chambers of Commerce of Brindisi, Genoa, L’Aquila, La Spezia, Matera, Perugia, Salerno, Udine and the Vicenza Consortium, and intends to build a network of UNESCO World Heritage Sites with the aim of increasing their promotion and recognition among the general public. In essence, the project aims to create a tourist offer that proposes a different Italy: far from the beaten track of mass tourism. At the presentation, which opened the year of tourism between Italy and Russia, was attended by the Italian Ambassador in Moscow, Cesare Maria Ragaglini, the director of Moscow EMIT, Domenico di Salvo, and the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Matera, Angelo Tortorelli. Villa Berg, the historical site of the Italian Embassy in Moscow, hosted 150 tour operators and journalists. At the end of the presentation, the violinist Massimo Quarta, winner of the Paganini prize, performed a solo concert with music by Bach, Locatelli and Paganini.
