Finally, after an eagerly wait, and endless work done behind the scenes, the Erasmus+ Health and Sport project kicked off with the first official meeting which was held in Gaglianico, Italy, on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 July 2021.
The first delegation to reach the village of Gaglianico on the evening of Thursday 2 was the Bulgarian one of Svilengrad, represented by Kostadin Atanasov Kostadinov, junior expert – projects and programs and also communication manager for the project and by Anton Penchev Stoyanov, head of sport & tourism.
The next morning the Slovenian delegation made up of the deputy mayor Ana Nuša Somrak, her husband Niko Somrak and an interpreter, the head of the Krško youth center, Nejc Jordan, also arrived.
The Portuguese delegation was unable to attend this first meeting in the presence.
On Friday, after a quick visit to the center of Biella, the provincial chief town, by the Bulgarians, the two foreign delegations met for the first time officially for the lunch that was held at the Cavour restaurant. Then in the afternoon, the whole group moved to the Sacro Monte di Oropa for an in-depth visit of the site.
First the Oropa’s Treasures Museum, then the climb and the visit to the New Church, some photo shots with the group, the subsequent visit to the Old Church where the famous wooden statue of the Madonna of Oropa is kept, then, last but unmissable, a taste of the local specialty, the “bicerin” at Deiro’s bar.
In order to wrap the afternoon up in the best possible way the van brought the “tourists” a few kilometers along the panoramic road of Tracciolino to admire, thanks also to a lucky day with ideal weather conditions, the entire plain of the province of Biella.
Dinner at the Pizzeria Zero81 in Gaglianico let the mayor and part of the city council to meet the guests. A fundamental evening to mix moments of hilarity and free talking with the exchange of very useful information for all. present.
The next day can be defined as the most official of all. In fact, the project has been presented to the local community and of course also to all delegations present. The day opened with the mayor Paolo Maggia, who welcomed everyone and gave the main reasons why the municipality of Gaglianico, together with the other partners, has decided to work hard to make this project come true.
Nicolò Caneparo, the media partner of the entire project, then took the floor to introduce the logo and the website and explain the steps of their creation. It was also shared the extra material that was created to facilitate the dissemination of brand awareness: these are paper blocks, national flags, and a themed rollup. The hashtag of the project that will accompany all official communications, was also announced: it is #erasmusplushs.
The session then carried on with the presentation of each municipality by their respective representatives, except for Viana do Alentejo, since the delegation was not physically present, the project engineer Luisa Lovisolo illustrated it. Therefore, facts and figures have been shown with the aim to better understand each reality involved. Not only that, images and videos were displayed to be able to see how the various locations look, with their many attractions, structures, services. At the end of each general presentation, a focus was proposed to analyze the projects and ideas put in place by each delegation in relation to the goals of the project.
A quick lunch organized by the Coop “Il Raggio Verde” and then a free afternoon to visit the ancient village of Biella-Piazzo.
The menu is certainly not over, in fact, the first official event linked to the project is scheduled for the evening: the Walk of St. Peter. It is a simple walk through the streets of the town. A route that allows participants to stroll through a path that touches the most interesting landmarks of the entire municipality of Gaglianico. Organized by the A.S. Gaglianico 1974, in particular by the tireless Alberto Cappio, with the help of many volunteers, the activity saw the participation of almost 60 people over a distance of almost 6 kilometers.
The long day, for the delegates, ended at the Gaglianico bowls club (CRC Gaglianico), with a hearty fish-based dinner which, together with the reciprocal exchange of some gifts, thus concluded these two intense days.