Resumen de Il turismo religioso sul lago D’orta in Piemonte (italia):: il progetto “casa dei padri”
Religious tourism on Lake Orta in Piedmont (Italy): the project “House of the Fathers” Religious tourism has experienced a strong growth in recent years, offering those who practice it a deep spiritual and authentic experience and at the same time the opportunity to delve into the reality of a territory, interacting with cultural heritage, forms of artistic expression and local specific products (crafts, food and wine, etc..). From these considerations, this paper presents a case study named “House of the Fathers”, a project to restore a valuable real estate, for purposes of tourist accommodation, and a to create ‘container’ (or ‘hub’) for numerous proposals and itineraries. This project aims to create a network between all the components (tangible or not) of religious and cultural heritage of the Cusio area, from a sustainable, accessible and integrated point of view and the possibility of their fruition. The Lake Orta (Cusius) has a fascinating history, sacred and legendary, mystical and mysterious now traceable in many traces and testimonies. Overlooking the lake, set among the mountains or in small villages, the many religious buildings represent for this territory an heritage full of art, history and architecture of great importance, a strong symbol of spirituality and devotion. It ranges from the Holy Mountain dedicated to St. Francis, considered a true masterpiece of sacred art and architecture set in a very beautiful landscape (UNESCO World Heritage Site), to the abbeys, churches, shrines and other places of worship, seen as an exceptional places for art, from painting to sculpture, from the vestments to the same architecture.
