Deruta is a village counting 9.000 inhabitants and encloses hundreds of workshops, which manufacture high-quality ceramics.
Since the Middle Ages, indeed, the majolica from Deruta has been enumerated among the Italian craftsmanship excellence and its secrets have been handed down by generations of artisans. The importance and fame of this art flew into the Regional Museum of Ceramics, exhibiting over six thousand pieces and over 1500 books on the topic. The town of Deruta was listed among the “Most Beautiful Villages in Italy” and boasts a stunning landscape and a favourable position: located next to Strada Statale Tiberina. Being near Perugia, it is well connected to Lazio, Marche and Toscana.
The gastronomic delights from Deruta, and the whole region of Umbria, are widely appreciated: Castelleone extra virgin olive oil boasts among its estimators “the prophet” of Italian poetry, Gabriele D’Annunzio.
Despite the uniqueness of the majolica production, and the cultural and gastronomic excellence of its tradition, the town of Deruta struggles to stand out as a prominent tourist destination, either on a regional, or a national level. The initial situation was therefore critical, and the tourism sector hardly made an impact on the economy of the community.
The city, led by mayor Michele Toniaccini, strongly believed in the possibility of enhancing its historical centre and promoting its local cultural heritage, through tourist reception.
To achieve this goal, they turned to Expirit.
The most innovative aspect of the plan is the new role that Deruta is going to play in the market: “Deruta, the town of civil art”.
Deruta is indeed going to use the tradition of its ceramics to promote messages of advancement, freedom and inclusivity. In fact, in 2019, following a moving public ceremony, the town conferred honorary citizenship to Piero Terracina and Sami Modiano, two Auschwitz survivors.
“Creating” a destination means taking care of a multitude of aspects: the tourist offerings, communication and marketing.
Our firm pursued the implementation and qualification of the tourist offer, by designing workshops and demonstrations led by local artisans.
Through a dedicated project, promoted by Fondazione di Perugia and designed and managed by Expirit, we provided Deruta with communication tools that thus far were absent: a Facebook page and an Instagram account of the municipality, along with a tourism-dedicated web portal.
Moreover, we are also working in synergy with local associations to the creation of a Tourist Information Office (IAT) and the implementation of a tourist reception network revolving around a special card, granting access to travellers to special offers on the purchase of products and services.
There are certainly still challenges to be faced, in order to turn the current pandemic situation into an opportunity to re-discover lesser-known destinations and ride the domestic tourism trend.
Our vision is to transform Deruta into a widespread accommodation facility dedicated to art. The serenity of the town, along with the hospitality of its citizens are indeed inspiring many artists to move to Deruta to find inspiration and share their art with the community. We are committed to the creation of an Art-friendly destination, where artists can spend a period of time in the town, and be provided with the most adequate spaces, in exchange for exhibitions and events open to the public. Moreover, as a “town of civil art” Deruta will promote universal messages of freedom and rights through the voices and pieces by the artists.
In order to realise our vision, we are working closely with the council offices, in order to find calls for proposals and funding sources.
We invite you to visit Deruta and give us feedback about this town full of passion for receptivity and longing for a bright future.
Achievements:
- Creation of a brand
- New recognition as “Town of Civil Art”
- New tourist offer based on experiences
- Integrated tourist communication
- Post-covid development strategy
