The bicycle, more than other means of transport, allows us to savour the nuances and varieties of certain landscapes ‘dense’ with points of interest, panoramas and hidden places. Along the Po, in an itinerary that goes from the ancient borders of the Duchy of Savoy up to its sources, there are plans to complete a fascinating cycle route: the Monviso Cycle Route. On the route of the Ciclovia, with many sections still to be secured (in red), we present here a test application of AtlasFor, choosing a selection of points of interest (POI) outside the major centres (cities are documented separately).
It is an illustration model of the POIs of the territory that will be taken up for all major cycling routes, accompanied by the activities of greatest interest for accommodation, food and wine, and typical products. In fact, for each region and in collaboration with FIAB, the Italian Federation of Friends of the Bicycle, AtlasFor will devote an entire section to cycle routes, with a selection of the most intriguing routes for the cyclist or the Sunday outing.
From Savoy fortifications to thermoelectric power stations, from Benedictine abbeys to places of nightlife, to natural areas recovered from quarrying activities: the route along the Po offers a variety of cues for the most diverse interests, just a few kilometres from each other. These are aspects of natural or cultural heritage and activities that are little known, because the river is a neglected place, from which the cities try to stay away, which is only frequented on certain occasions. Thus one has treasures to discover at hand (or rather, legs). These are in many cases visitable complexes, with timetables and modalities that in AtlasFor are included in a special initial window.
Site managers can report their changes, or request a NEWS window that is made available to automatically display their own initiatives. In this way, activity calendars are formed that can be consulted in order to follow the events and activities of the various players in the area.
What AtlasFor is proposing, as a showcase of neighbouring initiatives, is a service that has so far been poorly organised, given that each manager often neglects neighbourly relations with subjects with other initiatives, preferring to network with all the regional, national, planetary ones in his own area of competence.
In the mountainous part, going up the Po valley beyond Saluzzo, the pedalling becomes heavy for the untrained, and ‘assisted’ pedalling is needed, or a motor that in any case leads to places to visit at low speed and with the calm of the valley dwellers.
You will find castles, medieval hamlets, little altered landscapes, as in most of the western Alpine valleys. With this trip, AtlasFor begins a programme of exploration of lesser-known territories, marginalised with respect to tourist flows. These places are often dense not only with environmental qualities or historical evidence, but also with innovative initiatives for the ‘resistance’ to processes of abandonment and the enhancement of underused places. This is the case of Ostana, where a mayor-manager is promoting a valorisation of abandoned hamlets that is being adopted as a model throughout the Alps.
This is why AtlasFor documents the interventions qualifying the places not only in the archive-section linked to the area (Piedmont) or to the route (Monviso Cycleway), but also in the thematic selections at a national level (Alpine Landscape Award), thus promoting widespread knowledge and encouraging visits by ‘insiders’.
The provision of accommodation and food and wine offers is an additional service that may be useful to visitors at particular times and is activated on command, not cluttering the map during excursions.
Receptive services or restaurants, for now inserted following the selections made by the ATL of Turin, can be better presented with materials made available by the operators themselves, who are provided, as for cultural activities, with a window with the references of their own site and with the possibility of automatically inserting NEWS in terms of organisation of events, special offers or additional services (such as guided tours, specific equipment for the biking tourist, sports experiences etc.).
By the way, AtlaFor is opening a call, which will remain open until the end of 2019, for operators along the Monviso Cycle Route interested in taking a place in AtlasFor and showcasing their offers.
