From Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 June, a group of journalists representing ten newspapers and magazines tested hospitality, food and wine and cultural resources as well as the bike tourism trails of both the province of Latina and part of the metropolitan city of Rome.
The Latium Experience DMO, a mixed public-private association for promoting and commercializing the tourist flows of 12 Municipalities of Latium, the Italian region headed by Rome, organized a press tour from Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 June in a wide selection of its own territories.
Journalists representing ten newspapers and magazines took part in the initiative, three of them being furthermore specialized in bike tourism, two representing publishing houses from abroad (Brazil and Germany), and other two respectively interested in food and wine and art.
It was the first time that the Latina area presented itself to the press on such a large scale. This is consequential to the work of the DMO and its partners, who have been dedicated for more than one year to presenting the beauties of an area for which, in terms of offer and diversification, one would barely find a comparison.
The participants, accompanied by Latium Experience executives and officials, proceeded in two groups: one by bike and the other by shuttle. The shuttle group visited the founding cities, the Museo del Novecento–City of Pomezia, the Cambellotti Museum in Latina, Lake Fogliano, Sabaudia, San Felice Circeo, Fossanova, the Archaeological Museum of Priverno (coinciding with the local Palio and the town festival), Colleferro and Cori. The group by bicycle left from Pomezia and crossed the Solfatara, a section of the Decima Malafede reserve, skirted the sea of Torvajanica, crossed the Tre Cancelli wood passing in front of Torre Astura, then Marina di Latina, Latina itself, the Circeo forest, Sabaudia, the lakes of the Agro Pontino towards the sea, the Fogliano reserve, then they went back along the whole Biosphere of the Circeo forest, the Circeo quarry, San Felice, the embankment of the Amaseno, Fossanova, and finally went down along the Via Francigena to Maenza, Priverno, Sezze Scalo and Sermoneta, ending up at the Abbey of Val Visciolo.
The two groups always met for lunches and dinners, staying overnight in the same hotels. Food and wines, strictly from farm to table, were served in typical settings on the seafront of Torvajanica, Latina, Fogliano, Fossanova, as well as in a hotel in Sabaudia and a winery in Cori. Each of the three overnight stays took place in a different hotel, with a view to experiencing the excellence of tourist hospitality in several points.
«I am really happy with the outcome of this tour», says Paola Cosimi, General Manager of Latium Experience. «We showed ourselves in our genuine guise, as a territory ready to welcome at a time when many major attractions suffer from overtourism, thus capturing the maximum appreciation from everyone both in terms of landscapes and natural beauty and in terms of cultural, architectural and cycling opportunities. The first surveys are already coming out. Also hospitality was highly appreciated. The DMO has proved to be a magnificent experiment and will continue to enhance the extraordinary heritage of the area thanks to the work and contribution of its magnificent operators and of the public administrations».
Latium Experience is a public-private association aiming to promote, market and manage the tourist flows – involving all the actors operating in the area – of 12 Municipalities of Latium (the Italian region headed by Rome): Aprilia, Colleferro, Guidonia, Latina, Maenza, Pomezia, Pontinia, Priverno, Prossedi, Sabaudia, San Felice Circeo, Ventotene. The association also brings together 40 private operators.
The offer is divided into three macro-categories: bike tourism, comprising the routes that run along the canals and connect all the towns, foundation cities, including eight Municipalities, and tastings, enhancing the typical products of the area.
Culture, nature and roots are the themes with which, as in an intriguing storytelling, the rich heritage made available by the places will be organized, making endless business propositions for the benefit of tourists of all ages, backgrounds and origins.
