On Friday 15 March, the Ambassador of Italy in Australia, Paolo Crudele presented together with Consul Ernesto Pianelli, the event dedicated to ‘Tourism of the roots’ organized by the Italian consulate in Adelaide, as part of the initiatives promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to celebrate the Year of Italian Roots in the World. The event was an Australian first and saw the participation of numerous Italian-descendants, second or third generation migrants, eager to learn about the regions from which their ancestors belonged, to rediscover family origins and history, cultural traditions, artisanal products and food and wine, and reconnect with our country. South Australian Government Minister Katrine Hildyard MP, Minister for Child protection, attended the event on behalf of the Hon. Zoe Bettison MP, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Tourism. In his introductory speech, Ambassador Crudele briefly covered the stages that led to the launch of the Year of Roots. “Meticulous work that began in 2018 and which culminated in the launch of this project which aims to make descendants of Italian origin who live abroad travel to the places of origin of their ancestors. An emotional journey that may be of interest potentially to around 80 million people in the world, of which over a million are residents of Australia. The Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Antonio Tajani, has repeatedly declared: “With Roots Tourism we want to contribute to the construction of an authentically local tourist offer that allows Italian-descendants to appreciate all the beauty, culture and centuries-old traditions of the villages from which their ancestors left”. Roots tourism is a tourism section that has been growing significantly in the last decade, which can represent an important source of sustainable development for small Italian villages, often little-known realities and not included in traditional itineraries, but with great economic potential linked to incoming tourists. So far, 822 small Italian municipalities have joined. The event was organized together with ENIT, with the participation of the country manager for Australia and New Zealand, Emanuele Attanasio, the Fogolar Furlan of Adelaide which hosted the event, and Com.It.Es. of South Australia.
