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It is estimated that Italy possesses eighty percent of the artistic and cultural heritage of the world and a vast portion of this heritage is in Lazio.
Not surprisingly, cultural tourism plays a significant role in the economic activities of the Lazio Region. In 2006, over 11 million people visited the museums, monuments and archaeological sites of Lazio generating revenue for nearly forty million euro. Moreover, many public and private internationally renowned organisations conducting research activities on the cultural heritage of Italy and the Lazio Region are headquartered in the region.
The regional research system boasts over 1800 highly qualified and innovative enterprises operating in many different sectors including ICT services. Lazio has also registered the greatest increase in enterprises (+135.1%) operating in the cultural heritage and audiovisuals sector.
This system includes over 1300 humanities and science specialists operating in the public sphere and the highest national percentage of degree holders in these disciplines.
The Regional network includes 5 public and 4 private universities, the Central Institutes of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage (ICR; ICPL; ICCD; ICCU) and important research organisations such as CNR, ENEA and INFN.
Objectives of the Cultural Heritage Technology District
The creation of the DTC will help to increase dialogue and synergies between the academic and entrepreneurial sectors, overcome the fragmentation of the supply chain and reach the full potential of all the human capital, knowledge and innovation potential that is present in the cultural heritage sector.
In particular, the DTC will:
- Stimulate the development and creation of innovative enterprises employing cultural heritage as a driver for the local economy;
- Promote the publicly-regulated and high added-value private use of cultural heritage by creating practical communities amongst the system actors;
- Create processes and infrastructures to support the supply system;
- Increase collaboration between large industry and SMEs;
- Increase the potential for generating innovation specifically in the cultural heritage sector through the co-financing of development projects, modernisation activities and/or the acquisition of infrastructures and devices by Lazio universities and research centres, regional authorities and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage;
- Attract private capital, excellence-level competencies and high-tech international enterprises through innovative private equity/venture capital tools and venture capital operations;
- Defend and strengthen the juridical value of Lazio patents - 30% of which are related to the development of technology for the protection and safety of the cultural heritage – and promote enterprise competencies in the fragmented supply chain of the cultural heritage sector;
- Promote technology transfer towards all involved actors;
- Increase cultural tourism supply both through virtual multimedia systems and through marketing activities;
Redirect and distribute the flow of tourism, which is presently concentrated on a handful of sites, particularly in the city of Rome, to a vaster number of areas in the Region.
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