As part of the Archaedigit project, a conference was held in the Vitturi castle in Lukšić to present the activities carried out so far and the future course of the project of sustainable management of archaeological sites in a tourist context.
The conference was attended by the Deputy Mayor of Kaštela, Antonio Budimir, the representative of the Split-Dalmatia County from the Administrative Department for Culture, Technical Culture and Sports, Mislav Vušković, the Councilor for Culture of the Italian Municipality of Macerata, Katuscia Cassetta on behalf of the main partner of the ARCHAEODIGIT project, and Ljubomir Radić, the Director of the Croatian Maritime Museum Split, who gave a lecture on the topic of underwater archaeological sites. The conference was hosted by Marijana Mišerda Bajić, Head of the Department for European Union Funds in the City of Kaštela, and Mili Jerčić, Advisor for European Union Funds.
After Ljubomir Radić's lecture, two panel discussions were held on the topics "Use of virtual technology in underwater heritage presentations" and "Valorization of archaeological sites within sustainable tourism ecosystems".
The first presented the experiences and insights gained from the implementation of the Archaeodigit project, and the second touched on the topic of sustainable management of archaeological sites in a tourist context. The Italian and Croatian partners clearly explained the common issues and presented their experiences in solving the problem of quality and sustainable management of cultural heritage.
The project includes four archaeological pilot areas: the Fulfinum-Mirine archaeological site (Omišalj Municipality), then underwater site Trstenik in Sućurac (City of Kaštela), the Sepino archaeological park (Italy) and the Helvia Ricina archaeological site (Macerata, Italy).
- Croatia and Italy abound in archaeological sites of invaluable historical and cultural value, most often inland, and rarely near seaside destinations. In both countries, this heritage shares an exceptional potential for creating significant tourist flows, but it is not being exploited sufficiently. Namely, current methods of preservation and valorization primarily attract archaeology enthusiasts and school classes, thus excluding many categories of potential visitors – Mišerda Bajić told us about the project itself.
- This project will respond to the need to modernize current management practices by developing an innovative and effective methodology for the preservation, interpretation and valorization of archaeological sites. The methodology envisages an integrated strategy, which includes all stakeholders from the territorial tourism ecosystem to attract new visitors. Such as, online promotion of off-season itineraries with interactive exhibitions and on-site applications, the use of attractive interactive and immersive technologies, e.g. Metaverse, AR and the like, and the creation of a digital cultural trail that combines archaeological assets with intangible assets and tourist information – stated Mišerda Bajić.
The project also foresees activities that will provide future cultural and tourism operators with the advanced skills needed to effectively use the methodology and other main project results. The adoption of the new methodology will lead to an increase in visitors to archaeological sites, encouraging cross-border archaeological itineraries, thus contributing to strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of the tourism sector and alleviating the high seasonal pressure that characterizes coastal tourist areas, by redirecting tourist flows to neighboring inland areas and promoting off-season itineraries.
The approach of cross-border cooperation and joint creation ensures immediate applicability and replication of results in other territories, she concluded.
This is a two-year project that started in February 2024 with a budget of 2,4 million euros, of which the City of Kaštela is contributing almost 324 thousand euros. The lead partner of the project is the Municipality of Macerata and the Archaeological Park of Sepino (IT), the Municipality of Omišalj (CRO), ETT Spa (IT), the University of Macerata (IT), Juraj Dobrila University of Pula (CRO), the Forum of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce (IT) and the City of Kaštela.
Photo: Ivana Topic
