On Tuesday 10 October, the "Destination Napoleon in Italy - Towards a shared strategy" meeting was held at the Villa Bottini, in the presence of the Deputy Director for Tourism, Remo Santini.
The meeting opened with a video conference by Chairman of FECN - Destination NapoleonVincent Chauvet, and coordinated by Eleonora Berti, Director of the FECNand Arianna Duri, Coordinator of the FECNwas welcomed by the town of Lucca as Vice-President of the European Federation of Napoleonic CitiesThe meeting involved the Italian members of the FECN, with the aim of providing an opportunity for reflection and an exchange of experiences, with a view to consolidating the route in Italy and identifying projects of interest to members.
By encouraging synergies between the various cultural and socio-economic bodies, institutions and organisations, from the local to the national and European levels, the Villa Bottini meeting has been an effective tool for developing innovative policies and strategies that are consistent with the resources and characteristics of the sites, providing the member territories with shared tools, the chance to compare the practices developed by each and the opportunity to create joint projects, both at local and regional level and at national and transnational level.
The day, which was devoted to strengthening and developing policies to promote the region in connection with the figure of Napoleon, was also an opportunity for the experts and conference participants to retrace the most significant Napoleonic sites, monuments and itineraries in the city of Lucca.
The meeting was attended by Remo Santini and Stefania Attanasio from the city of LuccaAlessandro Adriani from the town of PortoferraioAlessandro Canale from the city of Monza, Francesco Milanesi from the city of Lodi, Gian Vincenzo Belli from the city of La Maddalena, Marina Rosa from the city of Lodi. Centro di Documentazione Residenze Reali LombardeRoberta Martinelli, Monica Guarracino and Barbara Bertacchini from theAssociation Napoleone ed Elisa: da Parigi alla ToscanaValentina Anselmi from Sistema Museale dell'Arcipelago Toscano SMArTElisabetta Carovani from Museo Comunale del Figurino Storico di CalenzanoMichela Fovanna de Villa Reale di MarliaFranca Maria Vanni and Luca Longhi from the Museo Medagliere dell'Europa NapoleonicaLuca Gullì, Luisa Berretti and Luciana Linzalone from the Direzione Regionale Musei della Toscana, Ministry of Culture.
During the meeting, it was made official that Lucca will host thegeneral meeting in the spring of 2025, in which all the European members of the FECN will participate. It's an annual event that will be renewed and enriched each year, enhancing the Napoleonic heritage of the various towns and cities involved through increasingly ambitious synergies and strategies.
