METAL PLACES: Culture Crossroads in the Eastern Mediterranean is a project being implemented on the Greek islands of Siphnos, Seriphos and Kythnos, as well as in the Community of Asgata, Cyprus, areas of outstanding – but little known to date – technological heritage with mining and metallurgical remains that date more than 3,500 years ago. The emergence of mining and metallurgical activities in the SE Mediterranean region as an integrated whole brings out the area’s distinct nature that surpasses geographical and administrative boundaries, and highlights the relationships and interactions between the metalliferous areas, as well as their contribution to the region’s overall cultural history over the centuries.
The project sheds light on the European-wide cultural importance of the selected sites, contributes to the development of a common tourism strategy and increases the capacity to promoting and accentuating sites of natural and cultural importance. METAL PLACES adopts a multi-level approach that combines diverse trends in both tourism development as well as natural and cultural heritage protection.
This is achieved by building and upgrading infrastructure (e.g., Natural and Geo-Metallurgical Heritage Promotion Centres), to bring geo-metallurgical sites to the fore, as well as improving accessibility (e.g., by locating-allocating and developing hiking trails and holding activities for persons with disabilities) and security (e.g., by special signage for archaeological sites). In addition, part of the project encompasses actions that promote the selected areas through contemporary and innovative technological means (e.g., 3D visualisations, an online GIS platform), new media of communication (e.g., social media, a mobile phone application) and the involvement of local stakeholders (e.g., networking for tourism stakeholders/visitor management pilot application). Of particular importance is the design and promotion of a place/destination identity, as well as the development of Management Plans and a guide for “good practices”, on the promotion and integrated management of natural and cultural heritage, with an emphasis on the protection of cultural landscapes within the Natura 2000 network (such as parts of the selected sites). The actions of the project offer an alternative to the traditional model of passive- mass tourism, while at the same time contribute to policy-making for local, regional and socio-economic development.
The intended cultural, and thus, tourism promotion is expected to directly benefit parts of the local population involved in the tourism industry (hoteliers, tour operators, etc.) but also visitors and the local communities as a whole.
The project METAL PLACES: Culture Crossroads in the Eastern Mediterranean was approved and is being implemented as part of the EU Interreg V-A Greece – Cyprus Programme 2014-2020 and is co-funded by the European Union (ERDF), Greece and Cyprus. The total budget of the project is €1,301,400.00 and has a 24-month implementation period.
The creation of this webpage is co-funded by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund) and by national resources of Greece and Cyprus. The content of the website is the sole responsibility of the beneficiary and can in no way reflect the views of the European Union, the participating countries and the managing authority.
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