Within the NewPilgrimAge (NPA) project, which focuses on the figure of Saint Martin and his spiritual and moral heritage as a driving force for local development, Albenga has collected innovative and creative solutions to promote cultural initiatives dedicated to the Saint, but also aimed at strengthening a tourist offer capable of enhancing the territory.

San Martino and Albenga

Not everyone knows that San Martino di Tours, as witnessed by Sulpicius Severo in his "Vita Martini", stayed for 4 years, stayed for a period on the Gallinara Island and precisely his historical "path" is at the center of the European Cultural Wheels of one of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, the Via Sanctis Martini which connects Samaria Savaria (today Szombathely) in Hungary, his hometown, with Slovenia, Croatia, Italy (Veneto, Albenga) and Tours (in France) of which San Martino he was bishop. All the cities participating in the Progetto NPA project are located along this path and will give life to a series of initiatives that will end in 2020.

 

Routes through the streets of Albenga

The City of Albenga has created, within the framework of the NPA project through the active involvement of the local community, routes to visit the city and places of San Martino which, through the use of QR codes and the development of an interactive map, they accompany the visitor through the beauties and the historical-artistic-cultural heritage of the city.
The RED route , an itinerary through the squares of the historic center dedicated in particular to school groups visiting the city. The BLUE path to discover and get to know the towers of the city through the relationship of some buildings with the historical families of Albenga. Finally, the GREEN route to allow a visit of the city through a historical route among the main monuments and museums.

RED path BLUE path GREEN path

Via Sancti Martini

In the spring of 2019, after exactly 59 days of travel and 1200 km under the shoes, ingenious Sergio Giusto , accompanied by Gianfranco "Feroce" Radini dei Fieui di Caruggi, completed a pilgrimage along the Via Sancti Martini starting from Szombathely in Hungary , a place recognized as the birthplace of San Martino, up to Albenga crossing the towns connected by the Cultural itinerary of the Council of Europe .

The path undertaken was a direct way to revive the cultural heritage of the Saint and promote the cultural heritage of the Gaiunian. The experience, however, was marked in particular by the encounters that Sergio made along his path: ambassador at the schools (Ajdovscina, Peschiera del Garda and Aquileia) where the students listened with pleasure to the experience of the ingaunian traveler, the civil and religious institutions, cultural operators and the inhabitants of the villages crossed.

"Fortino" project Official web site Facebook Municipality of Albenga

The initiatives in Albenga

All the partners of the NPA Project have been cooperating since 2017 to develop and propose new initiatives that are able to enhance a tangible and intangible cultural heritage that is somehow neglected today. The project is developing and experimenting IT solutions to promote services and products inspired by this heritage, actively involving the local community and the economic-productive fabric of each reality involved.

Thanks to the active involvement of the local community and a participatory approach to planning, a competition of ideas and various meetings to discuss with the local stakeholders the local community, Albenga has developed some pilot actions to enhance the cultural heritage and revitalize the cultural heritage of Martin of Tours .