Festasaggia
Celebrations fitting the landscape
The project, experimented for some years by the Ecomuseo del Casentino, in the early Arno Valley, has expanded its range to all the Municipalities of the Casentino Forests National Park as part of the Oltreterra project, a local initiative within "The Apennine yet to come - the General States of the Apennine Communities", founded with the aim of promoting sustainable and replicable economic actions, through the involvement of local promotion bodies and associations, towards the idea of a" total quality" territory.
Festasaggia's main purpose is to start a process of qualification, enhancement and promotion of village festivals, conceived as important moments of socialization and hospitality, stimulating attitudes of ecological sensitivity, rediscovery, and protection of values and products of the territory. In essence, what better way to raise awareness of the issues of landscape and sustainability than through village fairs? Initiatives which usually have a great participation involving families, young people, and types of individuals that are otherwise difficult to reach.
Specifically, initiatives promoting the following aspects are promoted and rewarded:
• Enhancement of local cultural heritage.
• Use of local products and celebration of typical local dishes.
• Functional ways to reduce, recycle, and dispose of waste.
Realistically: the organizers of the involved festivals join a call for tender with a self-certification by filling in a form in which the procedures through which it is planned to organize the event are explained. If a minimum score is reached, the initiatives receive a specific promotion from the organizers. Within three months of the event, the organizers themselves are required to present a report (purchase documents, photographic documentation) as proof of what has actually been done.
FESTASAGGIA PROPOSES TO:
• Enhance the work of volunteering while rediscovering the community sense of the feast and the value of hospitality.
• Activate concrete routes for involving and sensitizing the organizers of village festivals around the identified objectives, proposing moments of reflection and self-improvement.
• Implement coordinated promotion actions for the festivals in order to improve their recognition and guide users.
• Stimulate moments of exchange and comparison between the various events (around dishes, products, and knowledge).
> Download the leaflet with the complete program (PDF)
Further information
Unione dei Comuni Montani del Casentino Centro Servizi Rete Ecomuseale 0575-507272 ecomuseo@casentino.toscana.it
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