Culture
Within Culture – Roots Tourism
The very name of the initiative reveals the fundamental role of Culture in the rediscovery of one’s identity, origins, and roots.
Culture comes from the Latin verb colere, meaning “to cultivate” — its past participle cultus later extended to describe behaviors involving “care for the gods,” from which comes the religious term cult, referring to the set of beliefs, practices, and knowledge of a particular class or social group.
Culture, therefore, can be understood as the sum of intellectual knowledge that a person acquires through experience and study, internalizing and reworking it through deep personal reflection — transforming simple information into a vital part of one’s moral character, spiritual identity, aesthetic sensibility, and awareness of self and the world.
Culture is:
The history of human action.
The environment in which we live, which generates systems of knowledge and belief.
The customs of peoples, religions, production methods, scientific knowledge.
The food that nourishes life every day.
The care for others.
Culture is:
Tangible and intangible heritage, traditions, paths and pilgrimages in nature, tourism.
It is the imagination of humankind — not only the tools through which we express ourselves (books, cinema, theater, painting, sculpture), but also the way we embody values such as well-being, serenity, and the beauty of daily life.
Culture is:
The transmission of ideal and civic values that Italians have carried with them beyond national borders — symbolized by the statues that adorn the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the eternal flame in Rome: thought, action, sacrifice, justice, strength, and harmony.
From this awareness of Culture’s central role in the anthropological development of humanity, the project “Within Culture – Roots Tourism” was born.
Its aim is to strengthen the bond between Italy and Italian communities abroad, deepening the knowledge of their cultural origins.
This initiative combines cultural growth with the roots tourism of Italians and their descendants around the world. It offers family history reconstructions, cultural journeys, and experiences designed not for tourists as mere consumers, but for people in search of meaning, identity, and personal discovery.
The project responds to the need to promote new forms of territorial enhancement — highlighting Italy’s cultural, artistic, culinary, and natural excellence, with a strong focus on sustainability and digital innovation.
Roots Tourism represents an innovative way of traveling: by using digital tools and online resources, it allows people to retrace their family histories and explore authentic places off the beaten path, far from mass tourism.
At the same time, the project aims to strengthen connections between Italy and its global diaspora, promoting cultural dialogue and inclusion, while embracing the dynamics of contemporary multiculturalism — in line with Italy’s historic role as a crossroads of peoples and civilizations.
On this front, the initiative aspires to contribute constructive solutions to the major challenges of our time by actively engaging Italian citizens both at home and abroad — so that Italy may once again become a cultural force, ushering in a new Renaissance, just as it did centuries ago during another era of deep political and social upheaval.
Through a virtuous union of culture, environment, and the well-being promoted by Roots Tourism, the project supports a new model of circular development, rooted in the values of the 4 Cs:
Civilization, Consciousness, Knowledge, and Conduct.
