Published on 17 Sep 2024
A vademecum of good practices for a respectful and sustainable touristic experience.
Crespi d’Adda is the best-preserved company town in Southern Europe, and part of the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1995. It was built by the Crespi family for the employees of the textile factory and their families, and the factory itself remained active until 2004.
Crespi D’Adda then started a second life, linked to the preservation of its unique heritage. Among the initiatives to preserve and promote local heritage, the village of Crespi d’Adda became one of the eight pilot sites of the cultural tourism development project “TExTOUR”.
The village faces a great challenge in its sustainable development: the management of big tourism fluxes and the respectful and empathetic coexistence between tourists and residents. In fact, residents sometimes have a negative view of tourism even though they chose to live in a touristic location and UNESCO site. It is therefore necessary to help them develop a greater awareness of the possible benefits of living on such an attractive site, like better services and more initiatives for local development.
On the other hand, tourists are sometimes unaware of the impact generated while visiting Crespi D’Adda in terms of waste, noise and privacy for residents. It is necessary to help them develop greater awareness to provide better life conditions for the locals.
To address this, a Vademecum for tourists and residents was prepared within the TExTOUR project to promote mutual respect, protect Crespi’s cultural heritage and surrounding environment, and to avoid residents’ daily life disruption.
The aim of the Vademecum is therefore twofold. On the one hand, it promotes the preservation and valorisation of the cultural heritage among the citizens of Crespi d’Adda, and on the other hand it raises tourists’ awareness of the importance of respectful behaviour in an area which is also enjoyed by local communities.
Read more: Crespi D’Adda: a village where residents and tourists can coexist.