In this particular winter, we cannot help but think of the lack of carefree walks, especially now that the Christmas holidays are approaching.
Let us think of Genoa: that secular ritual of strolling through the carruggi will, inevitably, be curtailed by the worries of assemblage.

And as often happens, we realise the quality of our life in the city when we are about to lose it: buying a perfume or a dress choosing it from a catalogue of photos of ‘little bottles’ and dressed-up mannequins will be quite different from wandering the streets, ogling shop windows, stopping for a coffee in historic establishments, talking to shopkeepers.

There is a ‘city demand’ that the web is unable to satisfy, and we realise that we are used to walking around in the ‘best shopping centre’ there can be, and we miss that space and that behaviour.

With AtlasFor, we decided to try an experiment: if you can’t go to the city for shopping, let’s bring the city indoors.

Those who will open ‘Shops at Home’ on AtlasFor will find in front of them the merchants of excellence, selected by the AtlasFor editorial staff and located on a map of the historical centre of Genoa and Turin together with cultural heritage and museums.

The graphical simulation we report here illustrates an example of ‘Shops at Home’ for Turin: from the map, one approaches each shop, can observe the shop window, enter, see the items offered by the shop’s e-commerce.
In short, you actively visit the shop; or you go out and see the neighbouring shop, like in a real pre-Christmas stroll.
The map is constantly updated, just like a real shop window, indicating the presence of the shops with shining icons, real signs.

It is a solution we want to reserve for those who really offer something special: the shop space, the location, the products or services they sell must be ‘worth the trip’.
And to these, who stand out because of their ‘story’, personal creativity, product selection or special design, AtlasFor offers free of charge

– a location on the map next to museums and cultural heritage (with the same ‘dignity’ as these)
– a presentation sheet, initially basic (with biographical details, opening hours, link to e-commerce site etc.).
In addition, those interested may
– complete or modify the card as they wish, with a few simple operations, either directly or by instructing the AtlasFor editorial staff, and update it with photos, interviews or other videos, a chat activated remotely, etc.
– select – from the images of the shop windows and the interior of the premises – certain products, providing them with a link to their presentation on the shop’s e-commerce site, and then to the purchase (or possibly to a chat with the shop assistants).
In this way, we want to reproduce the experience of visiting the shop: from the shop windows and counters inside, to the choice of products and the dialogue with the shopkeepers.

To find out more, watch the two presentation videos (for Turin and Genoa) posted on our YouTube channel by clicking here:

>>> for Turin
>>> for Genoa

The documented shops can be visited on AtlasFor by clicking here:

>>> NICHE Parfums et Beauté, Turin

>>> Atelier Monica Insalata, Turin

>> Lo Spaventapasseri, Genoa

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We also provide the participation request form and the press release of the initiative; as well as the list of the 150 ‘shops of excellence’ in Genoa and Turin selected by the AtlasFor editorial staff.

>>> Participation request form

>>> Press release Shops at Home
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150 excellent shops in GENOA and TURIN (selected by the AtlasFor editorial staff)