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Project "Vi.A - The route of the Alpine vineyards " - Alcotra program Italy - France

The project aims to improve the protection and enhancement of the natural, cultural and landscape heritage of the territory, and consequently to increase the attractiveness and lasting benefit for visitors and inhabitants.

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The project is the result of a reflection on the potential offered by the development of wine tourism in the Franco-Italian Alps.

It is known in its entirety for its natural heritage, its magnificent landscapes (mountains, lakes, etc.), its biodiversity, its winter and spa resorts, the Alpine region and a must-see destination in Europe that welcomes many millions of tourists every year.
Rich in a common centuries-old history and positive experiences of European cooperation, the territories of the Metropolitan City of Turin (former Province of Turin), the Valle d'Aosta Region and Savoy (Department of Upper and Lower Savoy) They hope to be able to consolidate their cooperation for the protection and enhancement of their vineyards and vineyards and their wine-growing landscapes, which constitute both a historical, natural heritage and a tourist wealth.

The project
Since the Savoie and Haute-Savoie, Valdostan and Piedmont-Turin territories have been interacting for a long time and in the extension of the VINALP project, the Vi.A project is part of the continuity of this line, deepening and exploring new perspectives, in particular that of developing wine tourism on the territory ALCOTRA.
The prevailing founding idea of this cross-border project is to build with all the actors involved a wine tourism destination in the Alps of North France and Italy that takes strength from the conservation and enhancement of the natural and cultural heritage of wine.

The project proposes the realization and the realization of a new tourist destination based on a cross-border rediscovery route conceived as a "cross-border road", which invites to the gastronomic excursion and to the discovery of the vineyards and of the points of tourist interest, landscape, cultural/historical, that characterize the Alpine wine territories (wineries, museums, wine shops, viewpoints, documentation centres, Savoyard residences, castles, restaurants, accommodation) in the partner regions, combined with a logic of cross-border programming. The novelty compared to other cross-border connection routes and that this "Road" will also be a lever that allows you to structure a chain, wine tourism, through the creation of an ad hoc partnership that groups the actors of wine, tourism and inhabitants. In fact, the appropriation by the inhabitants of the process of building the tourist destination is, through its innovative approach, a central point of the philosophy of the project and ensures its durability.

This will be based on the development of tourist landscapes in vineyards for:

  • Affirming the wine-growing landscape as a strong marker of territories and inhabitants, as a discriminating factor for the definition of a tourist destination, a sort of "signature".
  • Counteracting land pressure which tends to destroy agricultural areas and related employment
  • Create a tourist offer generating economic activities and employment, in a logic of "cluster" that puts in virtuous relationship businesses and actors of the same territory through an approach "multi-profit" for optimized added value in the territories.

General objective of the project
The project aims to improve the protection and enhancement of the natural, cultural and landscape heritage of the territory, and consequently to increase the attractiveness and lasting benefit for visitors and inhabitants.

In this perspective, the project aims to:

  • Promoting the integrated use of cultural, environmental and tourist offer at cross-border level through wine tourism;
  • Increase skills and strengthen synergies between operators active in the conservation, interpretation, management and promotion of tourism natural/landscape and cultural heritage;
  • Diversify and experiment new organizational modalities and new innovative tourist products that aim to improve the use and development of the territory including ICT tools.

The result indicator chosen within the program and the satisfaction rate of tourists.

Results after the end of the project

  1. The spread of a process of landscape management with low environmental impact for the conservation of mountain vineyards with the possibility of initiating initiatives of landscape marking.
  2. A consolidated structuring of the tourist services in terms of diversification of the quality of the offer.
  3. An increased notoriety that determines an increase of the tourist flows on the segment of the wine tourism and the strengthening of the attractiveness of the territory.

The Partners

Partner of Piedmont

1) Metropolitan City of Turin (lead): The Metropolitan City of Turin retains its competence for tourism development and its mission of promoting economic and social development with an integrated local approach, with a focus on small businesses and local actors. In this context, the project, which is connected with the work carried out since ever on wine/gastronomic and cultural tourism, represents an exceptional opportunity and a great opportunity for partnership.

2) Municipality of Pomaretto : The municipal administration firmly believes in the recovery and enhancement of the function of tourism and in the recovery of the production of wine "Ramie" engaging in land reclamation activities and the recovery of vineyards. The characteristics of the territory formed by numerous dry stone terraces and built on steep slopes have a great value for the landscape. The City organizes thematic visits. The general objective is to lead young people towards a commitment to the development of their territory that could become an employment opportunity that guarantees an additional income.
The Administration is convinced that the exchange with partners from other regions and with different legislation will allow them to broaden their knowledge and gather suggestions for the future.

3) Municipality of Carema : Within the framework of the strategic plan for the development and promotion of the municipalities of Canavese, Carema works to implement measures aimed at enhancing the historical agricultural landscapes, preserving particularity and specificity and favoring the recovery of the abandoned parts of the culture of the vineyard in terraces.

Partner of the Savoy

1) Conseil Savoie Mont Blanc : The project will make it possible to professionalize the players in the wine system and towards tourism and its new trends (adaptation of their profession through diversification, the development of agritourism and wine tourism. The project will also allow the actors of tourism to know better and to better communicate this emblematic territory and thus also to develop a constructive and targeted dialogue between the actors of these two sectors.

2) Savoie Mont Blanc Tourisme (SMBT) : With this project SMBT intends to increase awareness and the tourist and wine tourism "expertise" of the territories and the actors of tourism of Savoie Mont Blanc. The project will also allow to carry out actions that aim to globally strengthen the attractiveness and notoriety of the territory thanks to the development of shared and common projects on a cross-border scale (new marketing approaches, common communication tools... ).

3) Communauté de Communes Coeur de Savoie (CCCS) : With this project, this territory, marked "Vignobles & Decouvertes" since 2011, intends to base its reputation on the wine tourism destination and enhance its natural and cultural heritage. It’s one of the territories where the project activities will take place. He has been working for many years on the development and qualification of his wine tourism offer: creation of the "Chemin des vignes" (30 km of walking itineraries), creation of 5 thematic rings on the theme of wine, development of wine-themed events (Fascinant weekend).
In parallel with the development of the offer, the Community of Municipalities "Coeur de Savoie" works to promote its destination in partnership with the Regional Natural Parks of the Bauges massif, the Chartreuse and also with Savoie Mont Blanc. Finally, the Community of Municipalities conducts a voluntary policy on the conservation of protected landscapes and natural spaces: renovation of walls, protection of arid meadows, etc.

4) Grand Lac Communauté d'Aglomeration : With this project, the territories intend to base their reputation on the wine tourism destination and enhance their natural and cultural heritage through wine tourism itineraries. The 4 Communities of Municipalities are united in a single project and constitute one of the territories where the activities of the project will take place.

Partner of the Aosta Valley

1) RAVA-DARNCF Autonomous Region of Val d'Aosta - Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Forestry: The project is an opportunity and fully responds to the needs of the institutional activities of the department, including:

  • Increasing the attractiveness of the wine sector through enhancement and promotion
  • Fostering local synergies between the different actors in the agricultural and tourism sectors

The RAVA-DARNCF intends to collaborate in delegation with the municipalities to carry out the works of valorization of the viticultural sites. As territorial collectivities are able to be the "trait d'union" between the inhabitants and local representatives of the wine sector and the Region with regard to the local dynamics of enhancement of the territory through European projects.
The sites of Morgex and Donnas were not chosen at random because they represent the vineyards of entry/ exit of the route that is intended to enhance with this project, and because they use native vines and special cultivation methods (walls, pergolas) and are therefore a beautiful representation of the typical landscapes. Aymavilles, in addition to holding the most important viticultural area of the entire Region, thanks to its central geographical situation and the monumental site represented by the castle and destined to become in the medium term the hub of wine tourism in the Aosta Valley.
It is therefore natural that the municipalities in question are involved in the project that represents a concrete opportunity to build synergies for the enhancement and promotion of their respective territories.

2) I.A.R. Regional Agricultural Institute: The IAR has motivations and interests of the first order towards the project because the latter is strongly consistent with the axes of research and experimentation carried out by the Institute.
In addition, cooperate in this initiative for the IAR and expand the basin of partners interested in development in the Alpine territory, weaving links between agriculture and tourism.
A relapse of the project will be the inclusion of some areas of the educational program proposed to students.

3) CERVIM: Research, study and development centre for mountain viticulture: The motivations and interests of CERVIM in participating in this project are very high, having the project a great coherence with the themes of activity of the Centre.
In fact, participation in cooperation projects generally increases the levels of competence and knowledge through inter-national exchange. More precisely on this project, the CERVIM sees itself recognized, at an interregional and cross-border level, a role of reference for the support to mountain viticulture, structurally difficult, not only for the organizations, but also for the actors, involved in the project itself. In addition, the experiences that will result from this project, such as multifunctional management models, can be proposed as good practice to other realities of mountain viticulture associated with Cervim or that identify with the objectives of the center.

The Results

The European project Interreg ALCOTRA "Vi.A - The Road of the Alpine Vineyards" has achieved important results between 2017 and 2021 on the cross-border territory of Savoy, the Metropolitan City of Turin and the Aosta Valley, including the recovery of 3 vineyards at an altitude, 4 didactic vineyards, the realization of 14 paths among the vineyards, of cross-border tourist packages, the creation of two multimedia museums on wine and viticulture, the recovery of a tasting point in the heroic vineyards of Ramie (Province of Turin)the setting up of rooms for the exhibition and wine tasting in Aymavilles (Aosta Valley), the creation of an App to choose where to eat, sleep, what to visit and taste and much more.

The protagonists of the project will tell how to make the most of these spectacular landscapes as soon as possible.

The project ended in April 2021.