Video of Europe’s Cultural Routes in Italy

The Italian Ministry of Culture has released a new one-hour video showcasing, for the first time, the 36 Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe that cross Italian territory.

About the project

The video highlights several major European itineraries that are part of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe and pass through Italy, such as the Camino de Santiago, the Via Francigena, the Route of Aeneas, Leonardo da Vinci’s Routes, ATRIUM, Iter Vitis, the Phoenicians’ Route, the Way of St. Francis, and others. The Cultural Routes are presented thematically, illustrating Europe’s shared heritage across history, architecture, religion, landscapes, and cultural traditions, while also promoting sustainable tourism and cooperation between institutions and local stakeholders.

European Cemeteries Route

Among the routes featured in the video is also the European Cemeteries Route, certified in 2010 and coordinated by the Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe. The European Cemeteries Route connects historic cemeteries across Europe as cultural landscapes that reflect European history, art, and collective memory. In the video, it is illustrated with images of several Italian cemeteries, including:

• the Monumental Cemetery of Lavagna,
• the Monumental Cemetery of Mantua,
• the Certosa Monumental Cemetery in Bologna,
• the Monumental Cemetery of Verona,
• the Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome,
• andthe Verano Monumental Cemetery in Rome.

The video

The European Cemeteries Route is featured from 31:38 onwards.

WDEC 2025 in Madrid

The 2025 Madrid Book Fair highlights Europe’s Cultural Routes through a special photo exhibition, featuring the European Cemeteries Route among others.

About the exhibition

On June 1, 2025, the annual Madrid Book Fair was officially inaugurated and will continue welcoming visitors until June 15 in the iconic Retiro Park. This year’s edition not only celebrates literature but also shines a spotlight on European cultural routes.

In order to give visibility to the cultural routes in Spain, highlight their European dimension, and showcase the work carried out by each route, an exhibition has been installed along the Paseo de Coches del Retiro. It features various panels dedicated to different cultural routes of the European Community. Among the displays is one representing the European Cemeteries Route, illustrated by the striking image of The Kiss of Death (one of the most photographed funerary sculptures in Europe) located in the Poblenou Cemetery in Barcelona.

This project aligns with the ASCE Week of Discovering European Cemeteries, drawing attention to cemeteries not only as resting places but also as open-air museums that reflect artistic, historical, and social legacies.

ASCE President at the International Conference in Nova Gorica

ASCE President, Mrs. Lidija Pliberšek, participated in the International Conference on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, held from April 14 to 16, 2025.

About the event

From April 14 to 16, 2025, the ASCE President, Mrs. Lidija Pliberšek, participated in the International Conference "Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe: Recognition and Preservation of Cultural Heritage in Cross-Border Regions", held in the cross-border towns of Gorizia (Italy), Nova Gorica, and Tolmin (Slovenia).

The event gathered representatives of the Council of Europe’s Cultural Routes, cultural heritage experts, local community representatives, and partners of the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) to explore the role of Cultural Routes in fostering cross-border cooperation and preserving shared heritage.

Presentation of ASCE and European Cemeteries Route

As part of the official conference program, Mrs. Pliberšek presented the work of ASCE and the European Cemeteries Route, a certified Cultural Route of the Council of Europe. In her presentation, cemeteries were portrayed as complex cultural landscapes with multiple dimensions: spaces of remembrance and burial, carriers of cultural and historical narratives, and increasingly as destinations for respectful, value-based tourism.

ASCE President also highlighted several key ASCE projects and the Park of Remembrance in Maribor, Slovenia, opened as part of the European Capital of Culture 2012, as a cross-border symbol of shared memory of the victims of the First and Second World Wars and post-war killings – without divisions and without judgments of values.

Her presentation emphasized the significance of cemeteries and the European Cemeteries Route in fostering cross-border cultural awareness and preserving Europe’s diverse heritage.

You can find the event program HERE.

The Cultural Routes Training Seminar in Vilnius

ASCE president, Mrs Lidija Pliberšek, will be a guest speaker at the Cultural Routes Training Seminar in Vilnius, Lithuania, taking place on 19 and 20 June, 2024.

The Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, in cooperation with the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) and the European Institute of Cultural Routes is organising a Cultural Routes Training Seminar for National Stakeholders.

The event will take place on 19 and 20 June, 2024, in Vilnius, Lithuania.

ASCE president, Mrs Lidija Pliberšek, will attend the event as one of the distinguished guest speakers. She will present the European Cemeteries Route as an example of Cultural Routes good practice.

The program will cover following topics:

• Context: the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe programme
• Workshop: Presentation of Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in Lithuania
• Defining a Cultural Route
• Tools for the governance of cultural routes
• Cultural routes – sustainable tourism, local development, and social participation
• Cultural Routes in practice
• Cultural routes communication and branding
• Roadmap for “Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe” in Lithuania

You can find the preliminary program of the seminar HERE.

30th EAA Annual Meeting: Call for papers

The Iron Age Danube Route invites you to participate in their session at the 30th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists in Rome, Italy.

About the event

The Iron Age Danube Route is organizing a session in the scope of the 30th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists, taking place from 28 to 31 August 2024 in Rome, Italy.

The session's theme is "The Living Heritage: Archaeological Cultural Routes in the Context of Cultural Tourism Network".

The purpose of the session is to discuss the potential of archaeological heritage in fostering cultural tourism and creating sustainable cultural resources for local communities. It will highlight the challenges in effectively integrating archaeological sites into tourism, emphasizing the need for long-term sustainability at the local level. Furthermore, the session aims to explore ways in which archaeological cultural routes, particularly those under the Council of Europe, can contribute to long-term partner and stakeholder networks. 

Experts from diverse fields are expected to share theoretical models, approaches, and examples of good practices in developing cultural tourism products based on archaeological heritage.

Details about the session are available HERE.

Call for papers

Anyone who would like to participate in the session is invited to submit their presentation abstract at the EAA website.

Deadline for abstract submission is 8 February 2024.

For any additional questions please contact Mrs. Marta Rakvin at ironagedanuberoute@gmail.com.

*Photo source: www.e-a-a.org/eaa2024

ASCE president at the Cultural Route Certificate Ceremony

ASCE president, Mrs Lidija Pliberšek, attended the Cultural Route Certificate Ceremony at the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia.

On Tuesday, September 12, 2023, a ceremonial event was held in the small hall of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, at which the director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes, Stefano Dominioni, from Luxembourg, handed over the Council of Europe Cultural Route Certificate to the Women Writers Route.

On this occasion, the gathered were address by:

• dr. Andreja Rihter, president of the Cultural Tourist Association of the Women Writers Route,
• Tamara Vonta, president of the Committee for Culture of the Slovenian National Assembly and Head of the Delegation of the Slovenian National Assembly in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,
• Špela Spanžel, director general of the Directorate for Cultural Heritage of the Slovenian Ministry of Culture,
• M.Sc. Urška Klakočar Zupančič, president of the Slovenian National Assembly.

At the invitation of the organizers, M.Sc. Lidija Pliberšek, President of the Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe, which manages the European Cemeteries Route project, attended the event. 

The official part of the ceremony was followed by an informal social gathering where the guests had the opportunity to exchange valuable experiences, insights, and perspectives on cultural routes in Slovenia and their interconnectedness.

Insights from the Certification Training Seminar in Luxembourg

ASCE president, Mrs. Lidija Pliberšek, unveiled the organizational journey of ASCE and European Cemeteries Route.

About the seminar

On Friday, June 30th, 2023, Mrs. Lidija Pliberšek, president of the Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe (ASCE), participated as a guest speaker in the Training Seminar for candidate routes applying for the "Cultural Route of the Council of Europe" certification held by the European Institute of Cultural Routes. This seminar served as a platform to introduce aspiring networks to the practical aspects of Cultural Routes, providing valuable support on their path towards certification within the 2023-2024 Certification Cycle.

Joining online, Mrs. Pliberšek eloquently bridged theory and practice, sharing valuable insights into operations of a certified Cultural Route. Shedding light on the European Cemeteries Route, showcasing its members, thematic focus, projects, and the countries involved, Mrs. Pliberšek discussed the challenges encountered, offering guidance, and highlighting the incredible opportunities that lie ahead for aspiring Cultural Route networks.

Role of ASCE and European Cemeteries Route

Participation in this seminar has served as an opportunity to reflect both on our work as representatives of cultural heritage of cemeteries across Europe, as much as our contribution to the development and growth of candidate networks, building an engaging and vibrant community of Cultural Routes. Through the European Cemeteries Route, ASCE continues to inspire and guide the dynamic community of certified Cultural Routes in Europe, facilitating cooperation, preserving heritage, and promoting sustainable cultural tourism throughout Europe.

European Cemeteries Route successfully evaluated as a Cultural Route

To retain the label of a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe, European Cemeteries Route has been evaluated in the framework of a three-year evaluation-cycle by European Institute of Cultural Routes.

About European Cemeteries Route

European Cemeteries Route is a project established by ASCE in 2010. It refers to cemeteries as places of life, settings that, as urban spaces, are directly linked to the history and culture of the community they belong to and where we will find many of our references.

Members of the route organize guided tours, events and other activities at the cemeteries, with the aim of informing visitors and making them aware of the important cultural heritage reflected in cemeteries.

European Cemeteries Route as a Cultural Route

European Cemeteries Route has been a certified "Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” since 2010.

Every three years, the Governing Board of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) meets to renew this certification to networks, such as the European Cemeteries Route.

The final step of this year's thorough, more than 6-month long evaluation process took place on 5 and 6 May 2022, in Luxembourg, where European Cemeteries Route successfully passed the evaluation and, by meeting all the required criteria, obtained the right to further use the label Cultural Route of the Council of Europe.

You can find the details about the evaluation process HERE.

Importance of the regular evaluation process

Throughout the last ten years, European Cemeteries Route has been evaluated 3 times. Always with success and observed as one of the routes that performs really well.

In many ways it may be seen as leading developer for the sector of cultural tourism.Yet again each time it went through the evaluation process, we have learned that there are possible improvements and unexploited potentials, such us:

• improvements in our work,
• improvements in the government networking,
• improvements in the research and cooperation with the academic sector,
• possibilities in cultural crossroads concept.

You can find more about the improvements and plans that European Cemeteries Route will work on in the future HERE.