Italyupdate takes a special interest in the work of the local tourist offices of small towns and communities in Italy, so we are particularly pleased to report on the success of initiatives undertaken by the Unione Nazionale delle Pro Loco d'Italia (National Union of local Tourist Information Centres). UNPLI and its associates, which total some 600,000 members spread over the Italian peninsula, work incessantly to preserve the distinctive traditions, customs, folklore, music and dialects of small Italian communities for the future generations. UNPLI was founded in 1962 and groups 6000 Pro Loco offices, specialized in giving tourist information about their territory.
Their efforts have finally been recognized at international level, with their project Abbraccia l'Italia (Embracing Italy) recently being welcomed under the UNESCO world heritage umbrella.'
UNPLI has now embarked on a new project called B.I.Lanciamo il Futuro (which could be roughly translated as: Lets take stock of the future), in which it attempts to take into account other factors than purely economic factors, such as the environment, lifestyle, community relationships and volunteer work, when evaluating the quality of life in small townships.
For information: www.unioneproloco.it
You can also look up the UNPLI video of a choice selection of localities on the online archive: www.youtube.com/progetti/unpli
