The establishment of the Polo Cassiodoro: a new challenge for the Calabrian tourist and cultural sector: Allowed financing of 6 milion of Euro.

The establishment of the Polo Cassiodoro represents an ambitious project that involves several subjects in various Italian cities. Thanks to a motivated group of companies, research institutions and other organizations, the Polo Cassiodoro aims to be a tool for development and territorial understanding, to implement and support a structured network of relationships and technical-scientific collaborations between companies and public and private bodies, local authorities and owners of historical and environmental heritage operating in the sector of the Cultural Heritage and tourism assets. The project presented in the POR Calabria ERDF 2014/2020, Actions 1.1.4. and 1.5.1., DDG No. 3585 of 17/04/2017, was admitted to financing from the Regione Calabria for almost 6 million. The Polo, with the leadership of cooperativa Dedalo of Catanzaro, aims to protect the historic environment for the recognition of local identity and the quality of life of the populations; the main goal to reach is to create an hub of cultural services of the Regione Calabria finalized to promote new public strategies of high social and cultural value, highly specialized actions able to combine the spread of culture with the promotion of knowledge on a local and global scale and, at the same time, to promote a process of social and economic revitalization of the territory and of its commercial and tourist activities, combining the conservation needs with the tourism opportunities. Particular attention will be paid to the social approach, to promote the use of cultural and environmental heritage to people in a situation of discomfort and disability, offering companies tools and methodologies that guarantee an effective achievement of this goal.

The Polo Cassiodoro team is already established by 113 subjects distributed in the regional and national territory; There are representations of over ten Italian regions, as well as international companies. The majority is made of companies and take part of ten research organizations including five universities, a department and a CNR institute, numerous universities and corporate spin off. Among the components of the Polo there is Icomos, national council of monuments and archaeological sites, non-governmental organization engaged in research on cultural heritage and in their safeguarding, in addition to other subjects whose skills cover the entire range of themes considered: ABN , Auris, Centro Vela Ionio, EnviroConsult, Exo, Komedia, Naos, Officine delle Idee, 3DNA, Vetta Costruzioni. In the partnership there is also coopculture, Società Cooperativa Culture, the largest cooperative operating in the field of cultural heritage and activities in Italy, to support technological innovation in the use of historical heritage. Given the social approach and its proposals of inclusion through the contribution of rural culture, the Polo involves in the partnership also the Gal Terre Locridee, long committed to promoting this kind of social activities. The main goal is now to give the Polo a real regional connotation, attributing to it in different provincial areas at least three properly equipped seats and equipped labs with specialized technical staff, places of experimentation and for the transfer to businesses of innovation processes. (source corrieredellacalabria.it)