Arezzo is betting on tourism and reception activities and on logistics as new avenues to develop its economy. It is a courageous bet for the Provincial capital with a long-standing manufacturing vocation, which aims to valorize its historic and landscape beauties, as well as its strategic position at the center of Italy’s territory. The precious metals and jewelry industries, alongside the so-called “fashion system” remain the reference point for activities in this area, but it is necessary to find new drivers for growth, especially in the aftermath of an economic outlook that undermined the certainties of any economic system.
For this reason, the Municipality of Arezzo has already launched a series of projects and identified interventions that could provide a significant push to these two sectors. The restoration of the 16th century Fortezza Medicea which, with numerous finds during the restoration process, is revealing itself to be a very interesting site from an historic and architectural perspective, and the valorization of Palazzo di Fraternita in Piazza Grande, as well as the recovery of Palazzo Fossombroni and Palazzo Carbonati – to be entrusted to private entities – are some of the opportunities that can serve as a stimulus for the city’s historic-architectural and touristic offerings.
Then again, the artistic heritage is noteworthy – beginning with the frescos by Piero della Francesca and the works of Giorgio Vasari and Cimabue – to which one must add some important landscape qualities. During recent years, the lure of these factors has already translated into something tangible: based on the statistics gathered by the Arezzo’s province [Provincia di Arezzo], in 2013, the city’s hospitality and extra-hospitality [rental homes, holiday homes, etc.] registered a 6% increase in presences compared to the previous year – an increase that was particularly supported by the +13.5% increase in foreigners.
As for assets already at the municipality’s disposal (the Medicea Fortress [Fortezza Medicea] and the two buildings for sale, Palazzo Fossombroni and Palazzo Carbonati), the goal is to find investors who will recognize the city’s cultural and touristic potential, and will commit, on the one had to converting the historical buildings into high-quality hospitality structures and, on the other, to wager on the historical-artistic offerings thought the management of the Fortezza. For this reason, after the summer the Municipality of Arezzo [Comune di Arezzo] will hire specialized companies to compile detailed dossiers and analyses to support potential investor by highlighting the projects’ sustainability and potential.
A very similar initiative will also pertain to the other sector on which Arezzo is wagering for the future: logistics. The goal is to develop the Arezzo interport on a surface area of 290,000 square meters which will, primarily, exploit it strategic position: on the north-south highway vector (A1), in the center of four of central Italy’s significant naval ports (Ravenna and Ancona on the Adriatic Sea, and Livorno and Civitavecchia on the Tyrrhenian Sea), and not far from the airports in Florence and Pisa. Alongside the new Agro-industrial center [Centro Agroalimentare], the new project also envisions that the area will optimally integrate the industrial and commercial establishments through a complete array of infrastructures and services to businesses (warehouses, a railway-roadway interchange, refueling stations, offices).
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