Acronym: ARCHEOTOUR
Program: Interreg IIIA Italia-Grecia 2000-2006
Funding: European Commission
Delegate Organization: Regione Puglia - Assessorato al Turismo e all`Industria alberghiera
Assessorato al Turismo e all`Industria alberghiera
Università di Lecce Dip. Beni Arti e Storia
Development Enterprise of Achaia Prefecture - Greece
Project period: Tuesday, April 1, 2008 to Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Research Unit 6 of RACTI is a subcontractor of the “ARCHEOTOUR - Applied research in the cultural heritage and environmental opportunities for the tourism” project, which has been placed within INTERREG IIIA GREECE ITALY, Meter 3.2: “Promotion, Restoration and Exploitation of the Historical and Cultural Heritage of Common Interest”. This program rose from a triple regard:

1. The presence of rich cultural heritage, which is common both from a historical point of view as well as from a side of characteristics in the two regions of Puglia (Italy) and Achaia (Greece), and is not effectively exploited

2. The opportunities provided by the innovative applications of ICT in the use of cultural heritage are numerous.

Project “ARCHEOTOUR- Applied research in the cultural heritage and environmental opportunities for the tourism” is based on the following axes of interventions:

1. Creation of a network of infrastructures for the reception, the recovery, the promotion and the exploitation of cultural heritage.

2. Promoting and Informational campaigns in common cultural issues with the use of new technologies.

3.The creation of structures for the connection, the promotion and the growth of traditional cultural elements of the two countries.

The main objectives of the project are the appointment and exploitation of secondary forgotten cultural heritage beginning from the Byzantine period, via means of common tourist cross-border tour. The starting point is the recovery of the cultural heritage of Byzantine origin that is found in the regions of Puglia (Italy) and Achaia (Greece). In the region of Achaia the selected monuments are the Byzantine church of Saint Nikolaos in the region of Platani, Rio and the castle of Patras.