We Maremmans aren’t an innovative bunch.
When you live in a region that has been inspiring and enchanting visitors for more than 2,000 years, you tend to be pretty skeptical about anything new or faddish.
It’s this ingrained skepticism that made the recent #invasionidigitali movement all the more captivating. The #invasionidigitali or Digital Invasions were the brainchild of some intrepid Italian social marketers. The idea was to modernize and revolutionize the way we market and appreciate the incredible cultural and historical heritage that is everywhere in Italy.
To do this, more than 300 ‘invasions’ were held across Italy in the last week of April. These events ranged from exclusive museum tours, to free exhibitions or outdoor excursions. Italian bloggers, social media lovers and anyone with a Twitter and Facebook account were invited along on the promise they shared their appreciation online.
I expected the Maremma to ignore this ‘hip, technological craze’, but was surprised to find we had organised a very healthy program of our own!
I attended a handful of events at home and one in Florence (just to see what the city folk were doing) and was blown away. I’m no social media guru. It took me 20 minutes to tweet one sentence in Florence, but I think I earned my invite.
A crowd of bloggers had gathered in Palazzo Strozzi when I arrived for the digital invasion. Of all the art galleries in Florence, Palazzo Strozzi is renowned for its innovative style. It regularly runs programs for the diversely abled and for schools, is social media savvy and has multimedia boards everywhere.
Our invasion was staged on the top floor of the palazzo. If you’re unfamiliar with the building, it’s shaped around a massive square courtyard. Normally the top floor is off limits, which made this occasion all the more exciting. As our guide shared some of the history of the building, I swallowed my vertigo and got this amazing shot:
Okay, so I’m not photographer either, but my friend Alex is and she took this picture, which is infinitely better.
After our tour, we headed to the year’s most anticipated exhibitions: La Primavera della Rinascimento – a collection of hundreds of works created between 1400-1460, and Un’idea del bellezza – a interactive exhibition on beauty interpreted by eight international artists. Both were spectacular, so if you’re in Florence, check them out.
All in all, it was a fantastic cultural invasion and I couldn’t wait to see what the Maremma had in store.
Naturally things were more humble down our end. My hometown, Manciano, played its trump card with free guided tours through its 13th century castle, ending with a visit to the castle tower to take in amazing 360° views. Naturally, I didn’t miss this one and snapped this photo:
Not bad right?
Over in Pitigliano, visitors were treated to a guided tour of the Via Cava di San Giuseppe – ancient Etruscan superhighways carved into the tufo rock. While in Massa Marittima, Renaissance roots were retraced through the city’s museums and streets.
In Grosseto, I explored the hidden corners of one of the Maremma’s oldest monument – the Cassero Senese – a 13th century guard headquarters where the city’s medieval walls meet.
This spectacular building is normally closed to visitors, so its beauty is lost. Its exterior is covered in travertine blocks and it’s so well designed that it was used as a base for soldiers in the 18th century and WWII.
Today, the interior has been transformed into well tended gardens, while its terrace is a great place to admire the view. I snapped this photo while I was there:
While the #invasionidigitali catered to the Italian audience, it merits a blog post because it was so out of the ordinary. I admire the ingenuity behind it and the fact that someone had the balls to market Italy’s cultural and historical heritage in such a different way.