What does it really mean to join the Comuni Project? International visibility, resources, relationships, and opportunities.
When a municipal administration signs the Memorandum of Understanding with the Italiani.it Foundation, it is joining an already functioning, international system, already geared towards enhancing exactly what that municipality has to offer: history, landscape, identity, traditions, people.
In the following paragraphs, we present, in a direct and concrete way, the main advantages of joining the Comuni Project. These benefits concern communication, economics, institutional relations, access to funding, and—perhaps most importantly—the opportunity to build authentic and lasting connections with migrant communities around the world.
1. Immediate international visibility
The most immediate benefit is also the most difficult to replicate independently: accessing a platform that already reaches over 2,5 million users per month around the world, people actively seeking information about Italy, their roots, and their places of origin. A municipality that adheres to the Municipalities Project It doesn't have to build this audience, it inherits it. Content is produced and distributed through italiani.it's editorial channels, associated portals, social networks, and newsletters. in 108 languages, depending on the target markets.
This visibility is qualitatively different from traditional advertising: it doesn't reach generic users, but people with a specific emotional connection to Italy, and often to the municipality itself. This is the most valuable and difficult audience to reach.
2. Professional content
Participation in the project includes: editorial productionArticles, videos, interviews, photo essays, and social media content. The Foundation has an editorial team and a network of collaborators familiar with the specifics of communicating with the Italian diaspora.
For many municipal administrations, especially small and medium-sized ones, establishing an independent international communications structure would be economically unsustainable. The Municipalities Project makes this accessible, reducing production costs and ensuring high quality standards.
The content is tailored to the specific characteristics of each region, highlighting what makes it unique: the history of emigrant families, artisanal traditions, landscape, gastronomy, cultural events, and entrepreneurial excellence.
3. A dedicated channel on the new italiani.it portal
Each participating municipality obtains a dedicated space On the italiani.it portal, a lively, up-to-date editorial space, integrated with the network's other tools (social media, newsletters, apps) and optimized for organic searches on international search engines.
5. Building relationships with emigrants
One of the most significant, and often unexpected, results that Municipalities experience by participating in the Municipalities Project is the reactivation of relationships with one's diasporaSometimes second- or third-generation emigrants, living in Argentina, Australia, Canada, or Germany, discover the program of their hometown through italiani.it and decide to attend an event, visit, or contact the municipality for information on how to return. Sometimes families scattered around the world rediscover, through the Virtual Museum of Italian Emigrants, the stories of their ancestors and turn them into a reason for travel and a rediscovery of their identity.
These connections aren't random: they're the product of an information and relational system. For a municipality, having this space means having a stable tool for engaging with its global community, something no traditional press release or advertising campaign can offer.
6. Economic development and new opportunities for local businesses and operators
The benefits of membership do not only concern the Municipality as an institution, but extend to the entire local economic fabric. The activities of the Municipalities Project create concrete opportunities for accommodation (farm holidays, B&Bs, hotels), which can benefit from flows of tourism from the roots that would otherwise be difficult to intercept; agri-food producers and artisans, which through the Foundation's channels can reach international markets where authentic Italian products are highly sought after; cultural and voluntary associations, who find in the project an international stage for their initiatives; cultural operators and tourist guides, which can be included in experiential paths organized for the diaspora.
7. Twinning, friendship pacts and international networks
The Foundation supports member administrations in the construction of twinning and friendship pacts with foreign cities where there is a community of compatriots originally from the area. These tools, often underutilized, can become powerful levers for cultural, educational, and economic exchanges.
Through the network of italiani.it, the Municipality also enters the Network of Municipalities, a collaborative infrastructure that allows for sharing experiences, planning joint initiatives, and building root tourism itineraries that involve multiple territories.
Joining the Comuni Project isn't a one-time promotional campaign. It's building an infrastructure of relationships and visibility that produces lasting effects. The relationship with the diaspora, the international reputation, the network of collaborations—these assets grow and strengthen with continuity.
For the municipalities that have already joined, the memorandum of understanding represents the beginning of a journey, the first step in a collaboration that can evolve and deepen based on each administration's priorities and resources.
