Tourism, axis between Locride and Greece
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History, mythology, the Mediterranean as common factors of development: Locride rediscovers Magna Graecia and finds its place within a new tourist district that unites the most extreme part of Calabria to the acropolis of Athens, to the archaeological site of Delphi, to the city of Olympia, to the monasteries of the Metores.
Levantina, stage in Locride
This is the mission of Levantina, an event conceived by Myth Euromed, which brought Despina Koukoulopoulou, deputy head of mission of the Greek Embassy, to Locri for a live survey of a territory where one finds infinite similarities and correspondences (the archaeological sites, the Byzantine traces, the landscapes and even the language) with Greece. And new forms of transnational cooperation are being studied “to create an ideal bridge along which to carry out joint projects”, as the Greek diplomat declared, “because we have the same past and we must work towards a common future”. Starting from a new narration of the territories and from new territorial marketing models: slow, experiential, cultural tourism, «sustainable by definition – explains Alberto Cotrona, founder of Myth Euromed – but also intermodality and the blue economy, considered, for example, the presence in Locride of an excellence such as the port of Roccella, as well as the enhancement of the local agri-food chain, already ready to go beyond regional and national borders”.
Interreg Italy-Greece
It’s all within the European Interreg Italy-Greece programme, which promotes integrated development between neighboring regions that have sea and land borders in two or more Member States, by funding cooperation projects. «For the first time Calabria, with its tangible and intangible heritage, is an eligible territory. And we want to demonstrate – continues Cotrona – that borders are not barriers and that it is possible to face common challenges by creating new opportunities».
The role of the Gal Terre Locridee
The initiative is supported by the Gal Terre Locridee which pursues an idea of territorial development projected onto international scenarios: «We are talking about a geographical area full of potential – says Francesco Macrì, president of the Gal – from the cultural heritage to the natural, from the Aspromonte to the Ionian, including many new entrepreneurial experiences». And it is the same idea that animated the candidacy of Locride this year, with 42 municipalities, from Africo to Stilo, from Casignana to Palizzi, from Caulonia to Gerace, from Locri to Siderno, from San Luca to Staiti, as the Italian capital of culture: “Locride 2025” did not pass the selection, but the path of cultural growth continues. A bottom-up dream that makes the territory a great laboratory for inclusion, training, intercultural encounters, the creation of new languages. And also for the expansion of the tourist offer, the valorisation of the cultural heritage, the promotion of creative enterprises.
Locri, “Flower of Italy”
Pietra Cappa, Gerace, Stilo, Bivongi, Roccella Jonica: Despina Koukoulopoulou’s tour touched some of the most representative destinations of Greek Calabria and ended in the museum and archaeological park of Locri Epizefiri. A concentrate of Greekness that the director Elena Trunfio illustrated with enthusiasm to the guests of Levantina (diplomats, writers, journalists, marketing experts of the territory who came from all over Italy) to underline the common identity and «the beauty of finding each other as souls transplanted into the same place: Mother Greece». In connection with Naples for the visit of the ecumenical patriarch Bartholomew I, archbishop of Constantinople, also the ambassador Eleni Souranì who, quoting Plato, spoke of Locride and Locri as the “flower of Italy”. And of the need to “use culture as a lever for cooperation, uniting two shores with such common traits”. Also as a ransom for a territory marked by the stigma of crime.
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