The 'Pro Loco Membership Card' celebrates Bergamo Brescia, Italian Capital of Culture 2023. A distinctive sign of membership of the National Union of Pro Loco of Italy, which represents over 6.200 Pro Loco organizations and 600.000 volunteers, the card features an image of the two cities.
The initiative was presented yesterday afternoon at the stand of the Lombardy Region during the Bit underway in Milan by the heads of the Union: Antonino La Spina, president of Unpli (Unione Pro Loco d'Italia), Pietro Segalini, president of Unpli Lombardia, Fernando Tomasello, vice president of Unpli, Stefano Raso, head of the Membership Card department; while for the two capital cities there were Simone Maraggi, head of Tourism for the Municipality of Brescia, and Francesco Mariani, sales and marketing for Visit Bergamo.
Bergamo and Brescia are a single Italian Capital of Culture 2023, and the project was born as a sign of hope, pride and relaunch after the dramatic experience of the pandemic. The nomination - decided by Parliament in July 2020 - is an expression, as Unpli says, of the "will of Italian institutions to recognize their history, artistic and cultural heritage and the ability to regenerate through the conscious choice of culture as a central element for civil education, the creation of skills, work and social and economic stability". In short, the Italian Capital of Culture 2023 is and will be a platform of events and initiatives of extraordinary attraction for Italian and foreign tourists, invited to discover the treasures of unexpected beauty that these cities and their territories are able to offer.
The choice of the Italian Capital of Culture 2023 follows that of Matera (2019), Catania (2020), the Prosecco Hills (2021) and Alto Piemonte (2022) with which the valorization, through the card, of the Unesco sites was started and continues. "We are very happy to be able to count on the widespread presence of the Pro Loco to promote the beauties of Bergamo and Brescia - said Christophe Sanchez, CEO of Visit Bergamo in the message sent to the organizers - in this special year of Italian Capital of Culture 2023. We invite everyone, Italians and international tourists, to come to our cities and territories and let themselves be captivated by the wonder of our historical monuments and get involved in the rich program of events and initiatives of our theaters and museums".
“This wonderful initiative - underlined Simone Maraggi, Tourism Manager of the Municipality of Brescia - represents a great opportunity for the two cities to benefit from the presence of a large pool of members at a national level, interested in the cultural offerings and events of the Bergamo Brescia Italian Capital of Culture 2023 program. The possibility of taking advantage of agreements will represent a great incentive to visit and we are very happy to be able to host them and guarantee a pleasant stay to discover our hidden treasures”.
Unpli president Antonino La Spina is satisfied: “We are proud - he says - to have combined the Pro Loco Member Card with a project that is unique in its kind and has a high symbolic value”. After all, “hope, pride and relaunch through culture is - observes La Spina - the direction chosen by the Capital of Culture, but at the same time they are values and ideals in which the over 6.200 Italian Pro Loco recognize themselves, daily engaged in welcoming and promoting tourism, in territorial animation and in the valorization of the intangible cultural heritage of every corner of Italy”.
In fact, the Unpli member card, as underlined by the head of the Unpli Member Card department Stefano Raso, is a symbol of active participation in the valorization of the territory and the local culture of each Pro Loco member. In this way, "the Unpli member card becomes more and more a means to participate in cultural initiatives, events and activities aimed at making known and appreciated the beauties of the cities and their surrounding territories".
"The promotion of this important event - said Pietro Segalini, president of Unpli Lombardia - will have an impact on the entire Lombardy and national territory. It is an excellent opportunity to promote the beauty and rich intangible heritage of these two cities through the daily work of the Pro Loco, true sentinels of the territory". Through the "Tessera del socio Pro Loco" portal it is possible to discover the agreements and benefits that can be accessed. All national and local agreements are divided by category and region. All agreements are geolocalized on a map so as to allow easy identification.
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