Historic Cafés Route and the European Fairy Tale Route, both certified Cultural Routes by the Council of Europe (2022) have signed a Collaboration Agreement with the aim of promoting and defending the tangible and intangible cultural heritage associated with products, places, traditions, and communities that have created European values.
As the collaboration agreement states: “Historic Cafés and Fairytales represent two themes deeply connected with the history of mankind for centuries and of European and Mediterranean societies in particular. Therefore there are many connections between them and reflected in their culture. The Historic Cafés are a genuine example of this connection, histories, and fairytales are been told in the Cafés refined rooms better known as the cradles of the cultural, political, and civil society life of their towns.
The fairytales and their culture have been and spread throughout the centuries through Historic Cafés and their link continues today, also thanks to the valorization of their traditions and cultural identities, also thanks to the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe. They can offer multiple hints for historical study, cultural enhancement, and sustainable commercial and touristic development, with a view to growing local territories and communities, as the main actors of itineraries.
Starting from these premises, this agreement aims at promoting opportunities for cross-exchange between two Cultural Routes that both tell millenary stories, stimulating a new co-design and collaboration in terms of analysis, creation of combined tourism products between neighboring territories while belonging to different cultural itineraries, local enhancement actions, promotion of sustainable and experiencing tourism, on the one hand, linked to local communities, on the other inserted in a network with a European and international dimension.”
On the occasion of signing the Collaboration Agreement, prof. Marina D’ Amato, President of the European Fairy Tale Route stated: “The idea of collaborating with Historic Cafés Route stems from the common intention of ‘telling stories’. The Historic Café with its structure tells about an era of the past just as the fairy tale tells about the valuesand models of behavior which, coming from the past, indicate the behaviors and visions of the world to live in the present. The objective of the European Fairy Tale Route will also be that of preparing, within the ambit of Historic Cafés, a possibility to offer children their peculiar identity. It will be a sweet, a drink, a piece of crockery that will draw children’s attention and a local fairy tale will give them the opportunity to enter the place and time represented by the Historic Café with greater discernment. The European Fairy Tale Route will commit to propose the emblematic story that represents the place and the nation in each historic café.”
Mrs. Angela Drakou, HCR President stated: “Collaboration agreements are an important way for Routes to work together, to cooperate, to create new cultural products. They promote cooperation between countries and organizations and highlight cultural & sustainable tourism activities. At the same time the principles of democracy, cultural exchanges, human rights, dialogue, and the empowerment of local communities, principles which the Council of Europe has consistently defended, are fully reflected in this agreement”.
It is worth noticing that the “European Fairy Tale Route” and “Historic Cafés Route”, cross a large Euro-Mediterranean territory passing through many countries, and this collaboration agreement aims also at the development of international cooperation in the field of cultural, sustainable, creative tourism, following the principles of local development, support for tourism companies and small and medium-sized enterprises.
“The Collaboration Agreement between HCR and European Fairy Tale Route had been decided soon after the certification Cycle, on May 2023 in Luxembourg. We had already seen the dynamic and the common values we share” stated, George Loverdos, HCR Route Manager.