Yesterday, Monday, January 22, 2024, the Board of Directors of the Association for the Heritage of the Wine Landscapes of Langhe-Roero and Monferrato met at the Association’s headquarters in Asti. Among the main items on the agenda were the approval of the 2023 financial statements—a year that allowed the continuation of regular activities related to projects on climate change, the museum, the management plan, and training, which will continue into 2024—and the 2024 budget forecast. The 2024 operational plan and the extraordinary activities dedicated to the 10th Anniversary of the UNESCO Site, inscribed on the World Heritage List on June 22, 2014, were also presented.
The operational plan discussed during the Board meeting addresses the need for guidance and a comprehensive vision for the Association’s future and for concrete actions, divided into the two main categories of ordinary and extraordinary initiatives to be carried out in 2024, involving both public and private members as well as local stakeholders. This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the UNESCO recognition, whose celebration—through an extensive calendar of events to be presented shortly—forms the backbone of the planned activities. In the context of the Anniversary, the Board also approved collaboration with the Langhe Monferrato Roero Tourism Authority, which will support the Association at the technical management level, under the direction of General Manager Bruno Bertero, during this important year. Strengthened synergy with the LMR Tourism Authority and Alexala (the Local Tourist Agency of the Province of Alessandria) represents a strategic and necessary step, considering the 30% increase in tourist flows that the UNESCO recognition has generated since 2014, for the joint planning of responsible and aware tourism, attentive to the protection and safeguarding of the cultural landscape.
The focus of 2024 activities is to celebrate the beauty of a territory that, through the lens of these ten years, reflects on the future in an innovative way, giving value to cultural identity, enhancing the community, and engaging partners (municipalities and stakeholders). The ten-year anniversary is intended not only as a milestone to celebrate, but above all as a moment of assessment, reflection, and dialogue with the community on the socio-economic impact of the UNESCO recognition on the territory, together with the drafting of the new management plan for the Site. In summary, the Board of Directors has established a new starting point for the Association, setting new objectives and a vision—aware of the intrinsic fragility of the landscape—for a sustainable present and future in connection with the territory.
“2024 represents both a point of assessment and a turning point for the Association, which celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the UNESCO Site. As the Board, we are pleased with this new beginning in collaboration with the Langhe Monferrato Roero Tourism Authority, which we are confident will enhance the Association’s work in the territory. Finally, we would like to thank the outgoing Director Roberto Cerrato, who will officially retire on February 1,” stated Giovanna Quaglia, President of the UNESCO Wine Landscapes Association.
The new Director of the Association, Bruno Bertero, declared: “I am assuming this role pro tempore with the aim of continuing the work carried out so far. The goal is to implement it with expertise in tourism promotion in the Langhe-Roero and Monferrato territories, in collaboration with the Alessandria ATL Alexala, so that the development achieved over these years is maximized through the actions required by the wine heritage, in line with the UNESCO Site’s values of sustainability, ethics, and cultural significance.
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