Revitalizing Local Tourism: Enhancing the Museum and Tower Experience

In a city frequented by visitors with little interest in culture, the restorative care of a Museum frequented as if it were the polar ice cap (our last inspection on Easter Monday, as you may remember, highlighted the issue dramatically) can come not only from a reflection on current proposals (the current exhibitions are, objectively, not the most appealing) but also from some «trick», such as the idea of «picking up» tourists for the serious institution located in Rocca, by first showing them — panoramically — the top of the Torre Apponale.

Proposals and investments for the Museum and the Tower

The idea isn’t new, but until now it has moved at a snail’s pace. Recently, the vice-mayor Pietro Matteotti has given a push, convinced that he can set up a «ticket office» under the tower (offering visitors the chance to go to the top and then relax at the Museum): all for 4,000 lire, by next June.

How? Simply by implementing two security measures that the provincial surveillance commission (which has already inspected the site in Riva) has «decreed» as essential to open the old Apponale for visits.

First: install a series of tubes above the parapet at the summit (to prevent the risk of jumping into the void to those who lean out). Second: improve the protection of the last two wooden ramps leading to the top of the Tower.

«The design for these works — explains Matteotti — has already been prepared by architect Campetti. These are minimal interventions, which will be directly carried out by the municipal workshop, which is well capable of handling blacksmith and carpenter work on its own. If the project receives the approval of cultural heritage authorities, I see no obstacle to opening the Apponale to the public, with guided tours for groups of no more than ten people at a time.»

Will this be enough to give the Museum some fresh air? «I can’t know for sure, but I believe it will give it a boost. Towers are a popular tourist attraction in all cities. As for the Museum, I think even a «free day» of opening per week would serve as a good promotion.»

Another impetus should come from the «Public Hall» (with tourist-cultural info; promoting the city), which we will create in the former Cristallo premises on the ground floor of the Municipality building.