General Objectives of the Projects MerlinCV and RecapMCV
The main goal of the MerlinCV project was to enhance the tourist appeal and visibility of the cross-border region through integrated sustainable models that encourage the creation of innovative tourism products. These products aim to sustainably and, by employing green technologies, revalorize and reinterpret cultural heritage (castles, manors, villas) and outstanding ecotypes of deliberately planned landscapes (vineyards, garden and park systems), as well as to develop new and innovative approaches to their marketing.
The main objectives of the RecapMCV project focused on developing digital and innovative cultural heritage products that support sustainable and thematic tourism in the cross-border area. Particular attention was given to the professional and engaging presentation of previously underused heritage of castles, manors, and villas, which were interpreted through stories along thematic routes. Within the project, a strategy with an action plan for the sustainable digitalization and multisensory presentation of cultural heritage was also designed, contributing to its preservation and greater accessibility to the wider public.
Interreg website RecapMCV
Summary of the Projects MerlinCV and RecapMCV
The cross-border project MerlinCV contributed to increasing the visibility of the cross-border tourism region. Based on the valorisation of the yet untapped potential of cultural and natural heritage and gastronomy, innovative, integrated, thematic, and sustainability-oriented tourism products were developed in the Slovenian–Italian cross-border area. The project provided European-level relevant solutions to local environmental challenges by fostering the development of sustainable thematic tourism. For this purpose, numerous activities were organized in the fields of new tourism product development and stakeholder education.
Project activities were shaped based on research and the transfer of good practices from comparable environments. Building on this foundation, a web platform was developed to serve as a database of local tourism offerings and as a tool for planning thematic itineraries. To strengthen the capacity of local tourism providers to offer such content, several pilot initiatives were implemented: educational workshops, the establishment of a network known as the Community of Local Offer, as well as individualized itineraries and storytelling in tourism.
The project RecapMCV – Recapitalization of MerlinCV: Innovative Experiences of Cross-Border Natural and Cultural Heritage built upon and further developed the results of MerlinCV. The project explored ways to bring cultural heritage that is less accessible or insufficiently presented closer to contemporary tourist audiences in an engaging and inclusive manner. Through the use of digital technologies and immersive (“potopitvene”) presentation tools, RecapMCV developed new approaches to both the presentation and interpretation of castles, manors, palaces, and historic town centres across the Slovenian–Italian cross-border region.