The second edition of We Walk in Sardinia was a success with regard to participation and consensus. The event was conceived and promoted by the Tourism Department of the Region of Sardinia and, from 2 to 7 October 2023, involved around 500 people including experts and professionals. Journalists, content creators, video reporters, tourist and environmental guides, photographers and enthusiasts simultaneously covered 15 itineraries, crossing a total of 70 municipalities, along the 7 paths and 8 Pilgrimage Destinations included in the Official Regional Register of Paths.
On Saturday 7 October, the village of Laconi hosted the final conference of the event, during which the protagonists talked about and shared their experiences in the most authentic and deepest heart of the Island, in contact with the different aspects of its identity, including culture, spirituality, nature and well-being.
A model of experiential, slow and sustainable tourism, in which the paths, pilgrimage destinations and villages represent a new combined tourist offer focused on hospitality, integrating ‘classic’ seaside tourism and enhancing the internal areas, especially in periods in ‘another’ season. The speakers, in addition to representatives of the groups who walked along the devotional routes and the local civil and religious Authorities, were: the Regional Councillor for Tourism, Crafts and Commerce Gianni Chessa; Miriam Giovanzana, Editorial Director of Terre di Mezzo; the creator and coordinator of the regional project Renato Tomasi; the president of GIST (Italian Tourist Press Group) Sabrina Talarico; the journalist and RAI (Italian public broadcasting company) presenter Donatella Bianchi; Professor Fabiola Sfodera, teacher of business economics at the ‘La Sapienza’ University of Rome; national representative for Borghi Autentici (Authentic Villages) Rosanna Mazzia, Deputy Mayor of Laconi Maria Ignazia Deidda; managers of Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi and Monsignor Antonello Mura, representing the Sardinian Episcopal Conference. ‘We Walk in Sardinia’ received the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and was organised in collaboration not only with the Sardinian Episcopal Conference, GIST and the publisher ‘Terre di mezzo’, but also with the ‘Fa la cosa giusta’ trade fair and with Cipnes (Industrial Consortium of Northeastern Sardinia).
