With the project “Journey beyond borders: tradition and technology”, Eko Group puts together an original model for cultural promotion and local development.
The journey is an actual exercise of the soul, which involves space, time, the senses, and collective as well
as individual sensitivity, towards building memories, emotions, stories and suggestions. Certain places act as
powerful catalysts, crossing time and space, building strong and lasting bonds between different eras, so as to generate renewed prospects for the future. One such place is most certainly found in the Lazio region, within the province of Rieti, in the geographical area known as Sabina: it’s Poggio San Lorenzo, fascinating and precious hamlet, small naturalistic and urban jewel, a crossroad of experiences and protector of history, tradition and beauty.
In this context, the Eko Group, a Made in Italy organization established in the year 2000, has come into contact with unique local realities from a cultural, historical and productivity point of view, and thanks to the use of new methods and technologies thus stimulating a process of continuous enhancement of knowledge and traditions.
The synergy created with Azienda Capo Farfa, an ancient olive oil mill from the 1600s which stands on a villa dating back to Roman times, and the helpfulness of local authorities, has made it possible to put innovative paths in place to foster local and cultural development.
The “Journey beyond borders: tradition and technology” project, co-financed by the European Union as part of the public notice “Business makes culture” under the POR FESR Lazio 2014-2020 call – action 3.3.1 b, enterprises foster culture, aims at creating a development model for the cultural sites, within the Municipality of Poggio San Lorenzo, that is new and creative.
And what better place to choose for this project than this hamlet, which is one of the stops on one of the most widely renowned spiritual paths of all time, that of Saint Francis. In fact, around the territory of Poggio San Lorenzo a duality rich in meaning coagulates in a virtuous and proactive way: that between culture and business, tradition and technology. The Eko Group project harmonizes this duality, by on the one hand identifying seven different “paths of knowledge”: historical-cultural, sociological, religious, agronomic, food and wine, naturalistic and faunal, and on the other hand, triggering a new development model based on organizational modules capable of giving local businesses a modern and international vision that is consistent and in step with the times. The key being the fact that said local businesses may rely on effectiveness and efficiency both internally and in collaboration with the surrounding organizations and institutions. In so doing, a territory with a cultural landscape that is deeply rooted into the most ancestral times is turned into a proactive system, heading, full speed, towards a future characterized by sustainable development that relies on the most recent innovations in terms of technology, marketing and communication in order to conquer the future without forgetting its enormous legacy.
Tools available to visitors who wish to have an in-depth knowledge of the story of these places and their living experiences, will be a dedicated website, as well as virtual and augmented reality visors. Visitors will also be able to share their sensations and emotions with others, and in doing so they will intertwine past and present more resolutely. The virtual reality viewer will take one back to life at the hamlet during Roman times, or to take a close-up look at how extra virgin olive oil production, an extraordinary typical product of the area, has evolved in time. In some rooms made available by the municipality and by Capo Farfa Company, visitors will also have the opportunity to access two augmented reality experiences, via the latest generation tablets and smartphones. These augmented realities retrace the history of Poggio San Lorenzo, through the superimposition of content and digital images to the actual spaces, with audio and video contributions as well as specifically modeled and animated 3D elements.
Thanks to the content, the space made available on the website where people can share opinions and contribute their ideas, and to materials that are augmentative, informative and educational of the local cultural heritage, what will emerge will be an actual virtual meeting place to exchange ideas, models, thoughts and proposals for change.
The “Journey beyond borders: tradition and technology” project not only aims at promoting the cultural heritage of the area surrounding Rieti at a local, national and international level, but most of all it intends to shed light onto the excellence and values of the Made in Italy brand, to bring about a perennial dialogue between visitors, young people, companies, stakeholders, owners and managers of places of interest; to mutually enrich each other. Ultimately the intent is to foster a new type of community, one that is more open and available to sharing expertise and knowledge, capable of opening up new ways of doing business and actions that rely on rock solid bases that are historical-cultural, socio-religious, agronomic-enogastronomic and nature.
Thanks to Eko Group’s intuition, the journey to Poggio San Lorenzo is therefore the realization of a strong and solid conceptual idea that breaks down borders and invents new stories and relationships, new paths to be taken and countless wonders still to be dreamt of and discovered. There’s is no more exciting adventure than the reality that people can build together when the meet in a generous, ancient and fertile territory, as happens in fact, in is this special place nestled in Sabina.