In Rocca di Papa we start with Experience Park: a temporary event dedicated to sport, nature and gastronomy
With e-bike rental activities, trekking routes and dedicated refreshment areas
ROME – Rocca di Papa is preparing to become the point of reference for outdoor activities and tourism, from trekking to mountain biking with the highly anticipated launch of Experience Park. Every weekend, visitors will have the opportunity to experience unique moments, including sport, e-bike rental, nature and gastronomy, immersed in the magnificent woods of the Rocca di Papa and Castelli Romani area.
At Experience Park, nature and territory become digital: the website www.experiencepark.it is available of all visitors who wish to obtain more information on the initiative and beyond. By consulting the site you can download the maps with the routes and book trekking and e-bike activities via a dedicated number. Furthermore, you can consult the menu with the gastronomic specialties prepared in the refreshment area and reserve your place.
The event is organized by Experience Lab, a company of the Valica S.p.a group, MarTech company, sector leader in technological marketing with a specific focus on tourism and food and wine, and is sponsored by the Municipality of Rocca di Papa and the Regional Park of Castelli Romani, with the support of Thok and Good Trekking as official partners of the event. The objective of the event is to promote tourism in Rocca di Papa at 360°, integrating over 20 companies from the world of food and supply of services/materials operating in the area into the promotion strategy. Experience Park thus also becomes an opportunity for professionals to make their own contribution, at the same time offering young people new stimuli and job opportunities.
THE MAIN ACTIVITIES OF THE EVENT
Many activities are planned to experience the area in an active way. It is possible to have cycle touring experiences by renting e-bikes available in different sizes at dedicated rental points. In the company of expert trekking guides you can follow three paths ‘signed’ by the CAI, each of which winds along some of the main local points of interest such as the Via Sacra, the Maschio delle Faete, Fontana Tempesta and the Grotticelle. The paths have different levels of difficulty and are therefore suitable for expert and non-expert walkers, differing mainly in length and altitude. One of the paths has specific characteristics that make it suitable for children too. Walking along the paths of Experience Park is also an invitation to stop at the three panoramic points that you encounter along the way. From each one you can admire different views and perspectives, such as the sea in the distance and the hilly landscapes typical of central Italy. The one on the two lakes of the Castelli Romani, Lake Nemi and Lake Albano (or Castel Gandolfo), is magnificent and the pride of the area. At the end of the active experience, in Monte Cavo visitors will find a refreshment area where they can recover their energy and live an authentic experience “in the woods” while enjoying a selection of gastronomic specialties from the area, from local pork butchery products to dishes and to the most iconic desserts of the Roccheggio tradition. The refreshment area is open to everyone, both to those who have booked activities such as trekking and e-bike rides, and to those who are simply walking through the woods. Given the availability of tables, booking on the event website is recommended.
“Our Administration has as its primary objective the promotion of the territory and the landscape and food and wine excellences of Rocca di Papa – declares Massimiliano Calcagni, mayor of Rocca di Papa– Precisely for this reason we encourage and valorise all those activities and projects aimed both at attracting tourists of all ages to our city and at raising their awareness of the respect and culture of the territory. It is essential to implement policies aimed at creating a relationship of synergy between the environment, food and wine, sport and tourism which allows a greater influx of visitors, also with a view to the economic development of the activities of Rocca di Papa, as well as the opportunity to relaunch the image of our city. This can only be achieved through intelligent use of our forests which can increase values such as respect for the environment and nature and which can also encourage the fight against waste abandonment”.
“As a Park Authority we have the firm belief that only a responsible and conscious use of the territory, as well as being a driving force for greater knowledge and livelier tourism, can educate citizens to love and respect our thousand natural beauties – declares Ivan Boccali, commissioner of the Castelli Romani Regional Park– Not by closing our wonders in a case for the use and enjoyment of a few, but by bringing them into the daily lives of our fellow citizens: this is the method and the approach, in direction of ever greater interaction between the Park and the population. It is clear that we expect a ‘leap in quality’ from everyone, first and foremost from the users of this change of pace, so that the care and enhancement of our Park is not an exclusive ‘mission’ of the Authority but a value and purpose shared by everyone”.