RESEARCH AND SCIENTIFIC TRANSFER
ECHE Lab’s main research activities are aimed at enhancing cultural heritage as a driver of regional development, starting with its Inner Areas.
ECHE Lab places primary focus on the Calabrian region, where it primarily focuses its research and transfer activities.
With this in mind, ECHE Lab identifies Cultural Tourism as one of the most effective tools for enhancing cultural heritage; for this reason, its two main research lines are currently:
Line A:
the organization of Local Tourism Offering Systems (SLOT), including through the promotion of new organizational forms such as Destination Management Organizations (DMOs), under the specific responsibility of the Promotion and Management Section.
The areas currently undergoing the experiment are concentrated in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria and are: the Costa Viola, the Locride, the Valle degli Armeni.
La Costa Viola
Photo: Sargon24 – Costa viola viola, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
La Locride
Photo: Terramargia – Pazzano e Bivongi da Monte Stella dalla vetta Cucumella, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
La Valle degli Armeni
Photo: Pannuccis – Brancaleone – Reggio Calabria, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Line B:
the development of the Route: “BYZANTINE CULTURAL LANDSCAPE OF THE INNER AREAS ROUTE. Villages, defensive systems, monastic settlements, manuscripts, artistic representations, rites and traditions” and the formulation of the application dossier for certification of the Route by the Council of Europe, in partnership with the BRIA association, and others public and private partners.
This Line of Research is managed in particular by the Cultural Itineraries Section, which is also conducting a cross-referencing of existing Itineraries, already certified by the Council of Europe, and Calabrian cultural heritage, with a view to including the relevant territories.