Cultural Routes Of Sacred Sites

Programme 2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-A IPA Greece Albania

Date of latest update: 2026-05-20

Description

Description (EN):

CROSS (Cultural Routes of Sacred Sites) is a cross-border project that connects the regions of Epirus (Greece) and Gjirokastra (Albania) through their shared Religious Cultural Heritage (RCH) i.e. sacred sites, oral histories, traditions and religious crafts. The project documents, digitises, safeguards and re-interprets both tangible and intangible RCH assets to create interactive and customisable Cultural Routes ultural Routes based on spatial, temporal and thematic narratives. These Routes are accessed via the CROSS mobile app and digital platform, which serve as the entry points to personalised journeys tailored to users' interests. Through the use of 3D reconstructions, augmented/virtual Reality (AR/VR) experiences and interactive multimedia content, CROSS enables a multisensory engagement with RCH. Immersive, site-specific art installations co-created with local artists offer spatial narratives and emotionally charged encounters, enriching each sacred sites’ atmosphere. CROSS promotes Religious Cultural Heritage as a living, dynamic cultural system, embedded in place, sustained by communities and shaped by memory, rather than as a static collection of monuments. The project explores new modes of heritage access, interpretation and experience through the integration of architecture, art, digital technology and storytelling. CROSS also works closely with local communities to collect oral histories, safeguard endangered rituals and revive traditional religious crafts. A Training Programme and Educational Toolkit support knowledge transfer among youth, educators and cultural professionals. In parallel, the Sustainable Religious Tourism Handbook and the CROSS Network foster long-term impact, capacity building and integration into local policy. CROSS offers a scalable model of digitally-enhanced cultural tourism that links heritage preservation with local development, cross-border cooperation and inclusive, multisensory access to culture.

Thematic information

Cultural heritage and arts Education and training Rural and peripheral development

Type of intervention: 166 Protection, development and promotion of cultural heritage and cultural services

Partners (5)

Lead Partner: ΕΙΔΙΚΟΣ ΛΟΓΑΡΙΑΣΜΟΣ ΚΟΝΔYΛΙΩΝ ΕΡΕΥΝΩΝ ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟΥ ΙΩΑΝΝΙΝΩΝ

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 1020171

Address: ΙΟΑΝΝΙΝΑ, Greece

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Business support organisation

ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΙΑΚΗ ΗΠΕΙΡΟΥ ΑΕ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΙΑΚΟΣ ΟΡΓΑΝΙΣΜΟΣ ΤΟΠΙΚΗΣ ΑΥΤΟΔΙΟΙΚΗΣΗΣ

Name: ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΙΑΚΗ ΗΠΕΙΡΟΥ ΑΕ ΑΝΑΠΤΥΞΙΑΚΟΣ ΟΡΓΑΝΙΣΜΟΣ ΤΟΠΙΚΗΣ ΑΥΤΟΔΙΟΙΚΗΣΗΣ

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 30605036

Address: IOANNINA, Greece

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Business support organisation

HOLY METROPOLIS OF ARGYROCASTRO

Name: HOLY METROPOLIS OF ARGYROCASTRO

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 92000079

Address: Argycastro, Albania

Legal status: private

Organisation type: Interest groups including NGOs

MUNICIPALITY OF GJIROKASTRA

Name: MUNICIPALITY OF GJIROKASTRA

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 92000017

Address: Gjirokastra, Albania

Legal status: public

Organisation type: National public authority

ΙΕΡΑ ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΗ ΙΩΑΝΝΙΝΩΝ

Name: ΙΕΡΑ ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΗ ΙΩΑΝΝΙΝΩΝ

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 50501009

Address: Ioannina, Greece

Legal status: private

Organisation type: Interest groups including NGOs

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

DEVELOPMENT AGENCY OF EPIRUS SA - ORGANIZATION FOR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

Cultural Routes Of Sacred Sites

Partners and Projects info

ΕΙΔΙΚΟΣ ΛΟΓΑΡΙΑΣΜΟΣ ΚΟΝΔYΛΙΩΝ ΕΡΕΥΝΩΝ ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΟΥ ΙΩΑΝΝΙΝΩΝ

Cultural Routes Of Sacred Sites

Partners and Projects info

HOLY METROPOLIS OF ARGYROCASTRO

Cultural Routes Of Sacred Sites

Partners and Projects info

MUNICIPALITY OF GJIROKASTRA

Cultural Routes Of Sacred Sites

Partners and Projects info

HOLY METROPOLIS OF IOANNINA

Cultural Routes Of Sacred Sites

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Cultural Routes Of Sacred Sites

Project acronym: CROSS

Project ID: 6010795

Project start date: 2025-12-10

Project end date: 2027-12-10

Project status: ongoing

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 938 839.80

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 751 071.84

Total EU funding (co-financing rate): 80.00%

Co-financing sources:

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

(bullets are inserted automatically and may be incorrectly placed)

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-A IPA Greece Albania

Latest month of project-partner-call data publication

2026-05

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

20 / 20 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

80 / 80 (100%)

Notes on the data

Languages

Contact Form

Cultural Routes Of Sacred Sites

Description

Thematic information

Partners (5)

Partners map

Summary

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Disclaimer