Italy has declared 2024 the year of ‘back to your roots’ tourism. By that, they mean travel undertaken by Italian emigrants or descendants of Italians to visit the places where their ancestors lived.
It is estimated there is a community of around 60 million Italians living abroad.
Many of them have a good level of spending power. According to a study by business association Confcommercio and the SWG market-research agency, this market could generate around €8billion in annual revenue for Italy’s tourist sector.
The study, presented at the TTG tourism fair in Rimini, is based on the analysis of the Italian communities in eight countries – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, the UK, and the USA.
Vasari Corridor to reopen in May 2024
Somewhere for the Italians living abroad to visit in 2024 is The Vasari Corridor. A covered walkway linking the Uffizi Gallery with Palazzo Pitti in Florence, it is due to reopen to the public following renovations in May 2024. Uffizi director Eike Schmidt made the announcement yesterday. The Vasari Corridor runs from the Uffizi and over the iconic Ponte Vecchio that spans the Arno River.
The corridor was closed to the public in 2016 for safety reasons.
Since then, it has been undergoing refurbishment. “Today we are entering the final phase of the work” for the reopening of the Vasari Corridor, said Schmidt.
“Many of the measures to adapt to fire and air conditioning requirements and also to accessibility standards are already completed. And so we are now ready to finish, put the final touches to the structure and systems and then start with the layout,” he added.
Schmidt expressed his intention to coincide the reopening of the Vasari Corridor with the anniversary of the Cosa Nostra mafia bombing on the night of May 26-27, 1993. The bombing claimed the lives of five people.
Constructed in 1565 according to the architectural vision of Giorgio Vasari, the Vasari Corridor was originally commissioned by Florence’s ruling Medici family. This elevated passageway was designed to enable discreet and unrestricted travel between the governmental hub at Palazzo Vecchio and their private residence at Palazzo Pitti, located on the opposite side of the Arno River.
