Italian tourism in Italy: success of digit tour in Mantua

MANTUA, Italy - June 9, 2014 - PRLog -- The first “Digital Diary Tour”, a “Social” real time journey to discover the “Terre di Mantova”, promoted and organized by the Provincia di Mantova and involving European digital experts has ended. Within five days the 300 photos posted on Instagram got more than 3500 likes. Alessandro Pastacci, President of the Provincia di Mantova said: “With this project a process of territorial promotion intended to cross national borders and make the province of Mantua be known or rediscovered abroad has actually started off”.

The first journey to discover Mantua territories, which has involved professional social networkers from several European countries, has just concluded. The protagonists of the tourism promotion’s initiative named “Digital Diary tour 2014”, promoted by the Provincia di Mantova, have told everyday life stories of citizens and tourists, described places, usages and customs, traditions, artistic and culinary destinations attractive to tourists, and not only, by using an innovative storytelling format.

A five-day tour during which eleven acknowledged and followed by the web top influencers such as videomakers, instagrammers, food bloggers and travel bloggers from Italy, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Portugal, Austria have gone through the historic, artistic, cultural, naturalistic beauties of Mantua territories, discovering and sharing people’s habits and tasting food and wine specialities of the place. Through their voices, emotions, images and words, their experience has easily gone throughout Europe via YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, getting to all the ten influencers’ followers.

Suffice it to say that within just five days more than 300 photographs with the #Mantovaturismo #Terredimantova Instagram hashtag have been shared and lots more are being posted. Some of them have already got 3500 likes, not to mention the countless tweets and the posts on Facebook and blogs. Sharing and information are made easier thanks to the new “terre di mantova” APP, previewed and tested by bloggers, which will soon be available for IOS and Android devices.

Tourism and food influencers had the chance to visit all the most characteristic places of Virgil’s home-city and its province. Architecture, art and history played a big part for half of the tour: the old streets of the historical centre, the farmers’ market, Palazzo Ducale, Bibiena Theatre, the ideal city of Sabbioneta with its palaces, churches, theatres and its characteristic surreal atmosphere. The same atmosphere was also found in Castellaro Lagusello – one of the “Borghi più belli d’Italia” (the most beautiful small villages in Italy) – inside the Mincio Park, while Solferino, symbol of the wars of the Risorgimento, offered a journey back in time. The visitors entered into a spiritual and religious atmosphere once they got to the Beata Vergine delle Grazie sanctuary, renowned for the 15 August event, when the “Madonnari”, street painters specialised in religious themes, gather on the church square and compete down to the very last stroke.

Nature played its part, too. The city of water allowed visitors to dedicate Sunday, according to the Italian tradition, to the boat trip towards San Benedetto Po between Mantua lakes and the Mincio Natural Park. The tour concluded with some sports activity in the verdant nature of the cycle route along the banks of Mantua lakes. The province of Mantua offers everything and excels in Italy for cookery and food and wine specialities, which the top influencers pleasantly tasted, feasting their eyes (and mouths) on them.