On 16 June, the Secretariat took part in an online meeting with representatives of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in Portugal, organized by the Ministry of Culture of Portugal. The working meeting was opened by Mr. Bernardo ALABAÇA (Director General of Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture of Portugal), Mr. Stefano DOMINIONI (Executive Secretary of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) and Director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes (EICR)), Mr. Manuel LACERDA (Representative at the Directorate General for Cultural Heritage Portugal and the APA Steering Committee for Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe) and Ms. Teresa FERREIRA (Director of Innovation and Development Department, Turismo de Portugal).
Of the current 45 Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, 15 of them cover the Portuguese territory:
Santiago de Compostela Pilgrim Routes; Routes of El legado andalusí; European Route of Jewish Heritage; Routes of the Olive Tree; TRANSROMANICA; Iter Vitis Route; European Route of Cistercian Abbeys; European Cemeteries Route; Prehistoric Rock Art Trails; European Route of Historic Thermal Towns; Réseau Art Nouveau Network; European Routes of Emperor Charles V; Destination Napoleon; European Route of Industrial Heritage; European Route of Historic Gardens.
They all involve as partners several public and private entities, associations, municipalities, parish councils or other State bodies. Characterized by a great thematic diversity, a wide geographical expansion and different specificities of the cultural heritage associated with them, they constitute an important network of patrimonial elements and a resource of great potential for the development of cultural tourism in Portugal.
Each of the representatives of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, that cross Portugal, gave a brief introduction into the current state and activities of their specific Route. The main objective of the meeting was to promote the contact and the exchange of experiences between the representatives of the different Cultural Routes, to reflect on the elements that make up the success or failure of these Routes, to determine ways of facilitating contacts with other national entities and bodies and to establish lines of cooperation and development for the future.
