It is only two months old but is already an established reality. The regional portal liguriaheritage.it, dedicated to the exploitation of 97 cultural assets restored thanks to the funds provided by Axis 4 of the EU Programme Por Fesr 2007-2013, is just the starting point of a very ambitious and long-term project, which will develop into a technologically advanced and innovative product in 2014.

The project was started to stimulate use and enjoyment of cultural assets in our territory. Once restored, such assets need to be supported by a flexible tool. Exploiting cultural assets as a means for developing the economy and tourism is Liguria Heritage’s starting point and objective at the same time, because only an increased number of tourists may stimulate economic growth and create those conditions to develop tourism, handicraft and food and beverage industry.

This biennial valorisation plan started with the creation of a portal, which includes information on all the cultural assets restored. In addition to this, visitors can already enjoy seven out of over thirty multilingual audio guides provided for the main castles in Liguria.

Particular attention is given to the social networks: the portal is on Facebook and Twitter, through which we were able to create an effective communication network with operators – tourism promotion systems, municipalities and tour operators – as well as with end users.

We recorded over 2000 visits and 7000 pages viewed in the first two months. In addition to 500 likes on Facebook and 200 followers on Twitter.

This is what happened in 2013. But what about the new year? In the next months, the following will be implemented: a dedicated bilingual app for Android and iOS systems; an internet blog where operators and specialists in the field will be able to share their experiences; the English version of the portal; the publication of multilingual guides; creation of augmented reality for 4 sites, including three-dimensional avatars of a number of historical characters who will lead visitors through some fascinating re-enactments.

We are therefore kicking off 2014 with many good intentions and wishes: exploit our treasures at the best of our capacity through the most innovative tools and continue to get positive feedback from all those who have contributed to the promotion of our area with their pictures and suggestions in the past months. 
With the festive season upon us, we would like to assign you a little homework for your holidays: keep in touch with us through the social networks and tell us about "your" Liguria. Because, as we often say, you do not need to go far.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!