A cultural project will allow asylum seekers and foreigners in Italy to discover the artistic wealth of the city of Siena in Tuscany, Italy.
Art and the cultural heritage of Siena as a synonym of integration and social inclusion. This is the aim of the project 'A heritage of all. Intercultural encounters in the city of Siena' that gets underway on Thursday, October 19 to spread knowledge and awareness of the Tuscan city's rich artistic and cultural heritage among foreign residents and asylum seekers in Italy.
Cultural visits for foreigners in Italy
The idea, which comes under the auspices of the project MuSST funded by the culture ministry and the National gallery of Siena, "has grown out of the awareness that, while for the new generations contact with cultural heritage can come about through school, there are many foreign adults who are unfamiliar with the principal museums and monuments in Siena, due to persistent language, communication and cultural barriers", the organisers said in a statement.
The project will begin with a meeting devoted to training teachers and museum and cultural staff led by Simona Bodo, Silvia Mascheroni and Maria Grazia Panigada, three of Italy's biggest experts on the relationship between cultural heritage and intercultural education. In November, the national gallery will hold two themed visits for the associations Siena Perù (November 12) and Romanians in Siena and Friends (November 26).
Art initiatives for asylum seekers
The visits take landscape and daily life as their common theme.The project also includes an initiative for asylum seekers called 'The art that welcomes'. Activities will start between November and December and they have been planned in conjunction with Oxfam Italia Intercultura, the association LiMo and Circolo Arci Blue Train and Poggibonsi, which manage reception centres and run language courses for asylum seekers from Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana, Syria and other countries in the province of Siena.Cultural operators will work with language teachers to create experimental itineraries for discovering the heritage of S.Maria della Scala, a place that is historically dedicated to reception.