Reviving Natural Disaster-Struck Landscapes through Land Art Routes

Programme 2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-A Italy-Croatia

Date of latest update: 2026-06-05

Description

Description (EN):

RELANDART connects Atlantide and Solco from Italy, and the Municipality of Ploče in Croatia—in a bold attempt to transform disaster-scarred places into spaces of beauty, memory, and belonging. Blending community art, education, and symbolic recovery, the project is rooted in local stories but designed to resonate across borders. THE LANDSCAPE REMEMBERS: A SHARED ADRIATIC CHALLENGE Across the Adriatic, peripheral towns and rural communities carry the physical and emotional scars of disasters—floods, landslides, earthquakes, wildfires. These landscapes, already fragile from depopulation, ageing, and marginalisation, face a double risk: ecological vulnerability and cultural invisibility. Damaged spaces remain neglected, and memory fades. Yet these very places hold potential for a different kind of recovery—one that doesn’t just rebuild but reimagines, reconnects, and regenerates. RELANDART transforms wounded landscapes into sites of meaning, community, and sustainable tourism. Through creative reuse, citizen co-design, and artistic storytelling, the project turns traces of catastrophe into cultural anchors, blending Land Art, public engagement, and interpretive media into a cross-border route of resilience. It tackles a shared Adriatic need: how to make culture not a mirror of loss, but a driver of renewal. FROM ASHES TO ART: A VISION OF CREATIVE REGENERATION The project regenerates disaster-affected landscapes by co-creating Land Art installations, interpretive storytelling formats, and symbolic cultural events with schools, citizens, and municipalities. Through pilot actions, cross-border cooperation, and a transferable Playbook, RELANDART fosters sustainable tourism, strengthens territorial identity, and enables inclusive, creative recovery for marginalised communities. Rooted in New European Bauhaus values, it proposes regeneration that is not only beautiful and sustainable but also participatory. THE RIPPLE EFFECT: WHAT WILL CHANGE The project brings visibility, pride, and coherence to neglected areas. It reconnects people with their environments—not just by remembering what was lost, but by imagining what can be. Authorities gain tools to engage communities in cultural strategies. Schools and youth become protagonists in reinterpreting local heritage. Visitors discover a new kind of tourism: not passive consumption, but participatory experience. By project end, at least three territories will have transformed disaster traces into shared narratives, generating models that other municipalities can adapt and utilise. RELANDART doesn’t just regenerate sites; it regenerates how we think about them. OUTPUTS THAT TRAVEL BEYOND BORDERS Four outputs ensure lasting impact. First, co-created pilot typologies—including participatory mapping, community-led events, and Land Art—stand as replicable examples of symbolic regeneration, in line with programme requirements for jointly developed and implemented pilot actions. Second, the RELANDART Playbook distils the process into a flexible, story-based methodology for schools, municipalities, and cultural actors, supporting uptake across the Adriatic and beyond. Third, transferable tools and a digital storytelling platform translate creative practices into formats ready to adapt and scale, responding to the programme’s call for usable, cross-border solutions. Fourth, a peer learning and monitoring system embeds these practices into institutional routines, ensuring continuity and long-term learning. Beneficiaries include not only project partners but a wider Adriatic network, engaged through labs, educational activities, training, and capitalisation events. A SHARED JOURNEY, A CROSS-BORDER NECESSITY RELANDART’s power lies in its symbolism, and symbolism demands shared meaning. The project cannot work in isolation: it must weave stories across borders, from Italy to Croatia and beyond. By co-developing tools, co-curating memories, and co-authoring narratives, it ensures that solutions are not only replicable but also relevant. The Adriatic connection is not just geographic—it’s emotional, historical, and methodological. Partners bring their own scars, memories, and creative capacities. In doing so, they create a path others can follow. WHAT MAKES RELANDART DIFFERENT This is not a typical cultural heritage project. There are no restorations of monuments, no nostalgia-driven festivals. RELANDART is an act of symbolic infrastructure. It turns memory into material, residents into narrators, and broken places into stages for recovery. It blends art and policy, pedagogy and placemaking, storytelling and physical intervention. Its originality lies in the fusion: Land Art as a civic process, not just aesthetic. Its ambition lies in its legacy: a Playbook—not a report—enabling others to imagine futures from their own pasts. RELANDART is a quiet revolution in how we see, remember, and rebuild. It begins with disaster but ends with beauty, belonging, and a route worth walking.

Expected Achievements (EN):

To lay the symbolic, participatory, and operational foundations of the RELANDART Route by activating four disaster-affected pilot sites through inclusive memory mapping, community engagement, and Land Art co-creation. The project transforms damaged landscapes into aesthetic and educational anchors, reconnecting communities to place via collective imagination and low-impact transformation. It mobilises youth, schools, and artists through creative labs; documents trauma and resilience via geo-stories and archives; creates semi-permanent Land Art installations rooted in local memory and environmental awareness. The route is launched through events and accessible interpretation tools, making disaster-visible sites cultural assets. This work generates core of cross-border RELANDART Route, an itinerary fostering place attachment, cultural tourism, and cross-border recognition. A multilingual RELANDART Playbook enables replication across Adriatic-European territories.

Project outputs: Co-created Pilot Typologies of Cultural Regeneration Actions
(EN)
Jointly Developed Creative and Communication Solutions(EN)
Website: https://www.italy-croatia.eu/web/relandart

Thematic information

Managing natural and man-made threats, risk management Cultural heritage and arts Tourism

Priority: (VI-A_I-Hr_4) Culture and tourism for sustainable development

Priority specific objective: RSO4.6. Enhancing the role of culture and sustainable tourism in economic development, social inclusion and social innovation

Priority policy objective (Interreg specific objective): PO4 A more social and inclusive Europe implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights

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

Partners (3)

Lead Partner: ATLANTIDE Soc. Coop. Sociale p.a.

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 905382675

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 01134730397 | 01134730397 | atlantidecoopsociale@legalmail.it (EN)

Address: Via Levico, 48015 Cervia, Italy

Legal status: private

Organisation type: SME

Website: http://www.atlantide.net

Total budget: EUR 125 226.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 125 226.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 100.00%

Grad Ploče

Name: Grad Ploče

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 929270865

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 15429488788 | 15429488788 | ured.gradonacelnika@ploce.hr (EN)

Address: Trg kralja Tomislava, 20340 Ploče, Croatia

Legal status: public

Organisation type: Local public authority

Website: https://ploce.hr/

Total budget: EUR 90 255.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 72 204.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 80.00%

Partner contribution: EUR 18 051.00

Consorzio Solco Ravenna Cooperativa Sociale

Name: Consorzio Solco Ravenna Cooperativa Sociale

PIC (Participant Identification Code): 935981713

Partner’s ID if not PIC: 01088170392 | 01088170392 | solcoravenna@pec.confcooperative.it (EN)

Address: Via Oriani, 48121 Ravenna, Italy

Legal status: private

Organisation type: SME

Website: https://www.solcoravenna.it/

Total budget: EUR 96 996.00

Partner’s programme co-financing: EUR 96 996.00

Partner’s programme co-financing rate: 100.00%

Partners map

Partners and Projects info

City of Ploce

Reviving Natural Disaster-Struck Landscapes through Land Art Routes

Partners and Projects info

Sol.Co Social Cooperative Consortium Ravenna

Reviving Natural Disaster-Struck Landscapes through Land Art Routes

Partners and Projects info

ATLANTIDE Social Cooperative Society

Reviving Natural Disaster-Struck Landscapes through Land Art Routes

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Reviving Natural Disaster-Struck Landscapes through Land Art Routes

Project acronym: RELANDART

Project ID: ITHR0700837

Project start date: 2026-01-01

Project end date: 2027-06-30

Project status: ongoing

Relevant linked projects:

ITALY’S NATIONAL RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PLAN (PNRR) – MISSION 1, COMPONENT 3: CULTURE AND TOURISM DIGITALIZATION
Italy’s PNRR is a key strategic framework for stimulating economic and social recovery through digital transformation, ecological transition, and cultural revitalization. Mission 1, Component 3 focuses on modernizing and digitalizing cultural heritage and tourism by deploying advanced technologies, digital platforms, and innovative tools that enhance accessibility, management, and promotion of cultural assets.
The plan supports digital upgrades in museums, archaeological sites, libraries, and cultural venues, promoting user-driven services using virtual and augmented reality, multimedia, and participatory digital formats. It also involves communities, youth, and marginalized groups in co-creating sustainable tourism offers that protect authenticity and promote environmental responsibility.
By merging digital innovation with cultural regeneration, the PNRR aims to revitalize tourism, boost cultural participation, and diversify local economies, especially in peripheral and disaster-prone areas. It aligns with the European Green Deal by fostering low-impact tourism, circular economy practices, and biodiversity preservation through smart infrastructure and nature-based solutions.
Digital investments are backed by capacity-building for local authorities, cultural professionals, and tourism operators to ensure adoption of tools and improve governance. The plan encourages cross-sectoral collaboration and supports thematic cultural routes, itineraries, and inclusive outreach programs.
Running from 2021 to 2026, the PNRR is coordinated by ministries, regions, and cultural agencies. Its priorities complement regional and EU policies, reinforcing Italy’s leadership in macro-regional strategies such as EUSAIR and Interreg. (EN) | RELANDART aligns strongly with Italy’s PNRR digitalization agenda by demonstrating innovative, place-based applications of digital tools in cultural heritage and sustainable tourism. RELANDART’s digital platform, interactive geo-storytelling, and multimedia narratives directly support PNRR objectives to enhance cultural accessibility and user engagement through immersive and participatory technologies.
The project operationalizes PNRR’s vision by transforming disaster-impacted landscapes into digitally interpreted cultural sites, combining Land Art installations with QR-coded panels and trilingual content. These elements create engaging visitor experiences that promote environmental awareness and cultural education, in line with PNRR’s emphasis on user-centric services.
RELANDART’s focus on youth and marginalized groups reinforces PNRR’s inclusion goals by delivering targeted capacity-building to local authorities, schools, and cultural operators. This enhances institutional readiness for digital heritage governance and service innovation, facilitating broader uptake of best practices.
The project’s co-creation approach reflects PNRR’s participatory ethos, fostering community ownership of cultural regeneration and empowering local actors through direct involvement in digital storytelling and landscape art. This model builds resilience by integrating cultural identity with ecological recovery in vulnerable territories.
Its cross-border scope allows RELANDART to serve as a pilot for scalable cultural and digital regeneration, offering methods and lessons that can inform Italy’s broader digital transformation strategy. Ongoing knowledge exchange and alignment with PNRR coordinators will ensure mutual reinforcement.
Through practical tools and concrete actions, RELANDART supports Italy’s recovery goals, advances sustainable tourism diversification, and strengthens the country’s cultural and digital innovation ecosystem across the Adriatic. (EN), CROATIA’S NATIONAL RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PLAN (NRRP) – DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND CULTURAL HERITAGE
Croatia’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) prioritizes the digital transformation of cultural heritage management as part of a broader strategy for climate adaptation and sustainable tourism. It seeks to safeguard the country’s diverse cultural assets while fostering community resilience and promoting innovative, eco-sensitive tourism development models. Public investments target digital tools, data infrastructure, and participatory governance mechanisms that empower local stakeholders to protect, interpret, and valorise cultural heritage in a rapidly evolving socio-environmental context.
The NRRP highlights the importance of integrating cultural and environmental governance with digital innovation to improve monitoring systems, enhance visitor engagement, and build territorial knowledge through open access to data. It supports the adoption of smart technologies and interpretive platforms that can enrich both physical and virtual cultural experiences, particularly in rural and disaster-exposed areas. In doing so, it encourages municipalities and cultural institutions to rethink how heritage is preserved, communicated, and linked to sustainable development.
The plan promotes inclusive strategies involving municipalities, NGOs, educational institutions, and cultural actors to build capacity and foster shared responsibility for heritage stewardship. It prioritizes participatory methodologies, gender equality, and youth engagement—framing cultural heritage as a resource for community empowerment, not just conservation.
By embedding cultural innovation into climate resilience policies, Croatia’s NRRP affirms the role of culture and creativity in shaping green transitions. It supports initiatives that regenerate public space, stimulate creative economies, and promote equity and cohesion in heritage access and management. (EN) | RELANDART and Croatia’s NRRP share convergent goals in climate resilience, digital heritage innovation, and inclusive cultural governance. RELANDART contributes to the implementation of NRRP priorities by piloting community-based Land Art as a symbolic and ecological regeneration method for disaster-impacted landscapes. This approach supports environmental restoration and reclaims collective memory through participatory artistic expression, aligning with NRRP strategies that link heritage to resilience and wellbeing.
RELANDART capitalizes on the NRRP’s emphasis on digital transformation through its interactive platform, which enables geo-storytelling, inclusive interpretation, and public engagement. These tools enhance heritage inventories, support environmental education, and foster tourism diversification rooted in local identity and ecological sensitivity. RELANDART’s open-source formats and participatory process offer scalable methods that reflect NRRP’s commitment to data-driven, community-led innovation.
By involving municipalities, NGOs, educators, and youth, RELANDART operationalizes the NRRP’s inclusive governance approach. Its focus on intergenerational exchange and gender-sensitive facilitation complements NRRP targets on social cohesion and equal access to cultural resources. The use of co-creation labs, accessible formats, and interpretive tools extends cultural participation to marginalized and disaster-affected communities.
RELANDART's cross-border dimension reinforces the NRRP’s regional cooperation ambitions by promoting knowledge exchange with Italian partners and aligned environmental policies across the Adriatic. RELANDART’s pilot results, co-developed typologies, and outreach activities feed into national dialogues on heritage-led adaptation and innovation.
Collaboration with NRRP coordinators will help embed RELANDART’s results into national strategies, supporting policy coherence and advancing the NRRP’s cultural and climate objectives. (EN), ART-LAND – Artistic Territories for Regenerative Landscapes
Programme: URBACT IV 2021–2027
Project Period: 2023–2025
Lead Partner: Municipality of Elefsina (Greece)
ART-LAND promotes the reuse of degraded urban and peri-urban spaces through cultural participation, ephemeral Land Art, and place-sensitive storytelling. The project connects cities with high symbolic density—often post-industrial or environmentally scarred—that seek to transform underused or damaged spaces into new community commons. By mobilising artists, youth, and local institutions, ART-LAND generates site-specific actions rooted in participatory memory and temporary reuse.
Each partner city runs “Creative Regeneration Units” that combine public art installations, civic dialogue, and educational labs on ecological repair. The interventions are low-impact and community-co-created, often using local waste, organic material, and historic fragments. A strong focus is placed on the aesthetics of resilience, with ephemeral artworks serving as tools for emotional reattachment to place. Gender balance, youth engagement, and minority representation are key principles of the artistic curation process.
Outcomes include an “ART-LAND Methodology Compass,” toolkits for cultural urbanism in vulnerable areas, and policy briefs on how artistic practices can complement urban planning and climate adaptation. The project is particularly relevant for peripheral towns or regions where traditional infrastructure-based regeneration is neither feasible nor desirable, and where symbolic and participatory value holds stronger potential. ART-LAND exemplifies how aesthetic experimentation and participatory care can reframe trauma-affected places as future-oriented landscapes of belonging. (EN) | RELANDART aligns closely with ART-LAND in reimagining neglected, abandoned, or disaster-stricken landscapes as creative spaces for public value and symbolic regeneration. While ART-LAND focused on urban voids, empty buildings, and post-industrial sites, RELANDART adapts this logic to natural and peri-urban territories marked by hydro-climatic disasters and cultural marginalisation. Both projects use art as a trigger for new forms of community engagement, identity building, and spatial recovery.
RELANDART draws inspiration from ART-LAND’s emphasis on temporary artistic reuse, co-design, and participatory governance. In RELANDART’s A.1.3, the co-creation of Land Art installations echoes ART-LAND’s artistic calls and artist-in-residence schemes. However, RELANDART adds a deeper environmental and memory-based dimension: damaged elements (burnt wood, eroded stone, debris) are not only reused but also transformed into symbolic artefacts, conveying stories of trauma and resilience.
The projects converge on inclusive placemaking. ART-LAND worked with municipalities, artists, and local actors to create community-supported interventions; RELANDART does the same through its Creative Labs (A.1.2) and Public Events (A.1.4), with an explicit focus on gender balance, intergenerational learning, and disability inclusion. Both embed artistic interventions in shared governance, but RELANDART formalises this further via peer reviews, stakeholder coordination reports, and memoranda of understanding for future reuse (A.1.5, A.1.7).
Thematically, RELANDART expands on ART-LAND by linking artistic reuse to climate awareness, leveraging the Green Deal and NEB principles to reinforce sustainability and social impact. Its Output 1.2—Jointly Developed Solutions—scales ART-LAND’s experience into replicable formats (Playbook, itineraries, participatory methods) suitable for transnational uptake in disaster-prone regions. (EN), STORY – Storytelling for Heritage Recovery and Inclusive Regeneration
Programme: Interreg MED 2014–2020 (capitalised under Interreg Euro-MED)
Project Period: 2020–2023
Lead Partner: University of the Aegean (Greece)
STORY addressed the use of narrative methods, digital storytelling, and participatory interpretation as drivers for the inclusive regeneration of cultural and natural heritage in vulnerable Mediterranean communities. Designed for areas affected by climate stress, depopulation or past disaster, the project activated storytelling not only as a tool for tourism enhancement, but as a healing and planning mechanism embedded in community identity.
STORY deployed “Narrative Labs” that gathered elders, youth, artists and civil society to share testimonies, audio stories, and spatial memories. These were translated into geolocated multimedia content, augmented reality experiences, interpretive paths and educational guides. Workshops focused on techniques such as memory walks, intergenerational interviews, creative writing, and visual co-mapping—blending emotional cartography with low-tech and digital tools.
The project emphasised co-governance: memory became a resource for collaborative planning, risk mitigation, and sustainable tourism. Final outputs included a “Mediterranean Storytelling Toolkit,” regional policy recommendations, and a transnational platform showcasing heritage narratives linked to environmental and socio-cultural fragility. STORY’s legacy lies in reframing heritage not as a static asset, but as a dynamic, people-led process where place-based identity and trauma can be re-signified into pathways for inclusion, stewardship and low-impact tourism. (EN) | RELANDART draws strong methodological inspiration from the Interreg MED STORY project, which explored how storytelling can drive sustainable tourism and community resilience in Mediterranean regions. STORY’s use of intangible heritage, personal memory, and narrative techniques as tools for tourism innovation directly complements RELANDART’s strategy of transforming disaster-scarred landscapes into symbolic cultural destinations.
Where STORY focused on crafting place-based narratives around historical and cultural identity to enhance territorial attractiveness, RELANDART pushes this further into post-trauma landscapes, embedding stories of disaster, recovery, and creativity into co-designed Land Art installations. Both projects champion non-extractive tourism, grounded in local knowledge and emotional connection rather than infrastructure-heavy investments.
Practically, RELANDART applies STORY’s participatory storytelling models to engage local communities—especially youth and underrepresented groups—in narrating their lived experience of natural disasters and shaping collective memory. RELANDART’s geo-stories, community podcasts, and site interpretation panels echo STORY’s multimedia itineraries, yet are uniquely rooted in artistic co-creation and material transformation, offering a more tactile and symbolic dimension.
STORY’s emphasis on authenticity, slow travel, and inclusive visitor experiences feeds directly into RELANDART’s New European Bauhaus-aligned vision for accessible, low-impact, emotionally resonant cultural routes. Furthermore, RELANDART builds on STORY’s cross-sector approach—bridging tourism, heritage, and social innovation—while adapting it to the Italy–Croatia context and disaster-prone rural territories.
Through this synergy, RELANDART contributes to the capitalisation and contextual adaptation of STORY’s tools, demonstrating how narrative practices can regenerate not only the image but the very identity of places marked by crisis. (EN), PERLA – Participatory Environmental Regeneration of Landscapes through Art
Programme: Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE 2021–2027
Project Period: 2023–2026
Lead Partner: Municipality of Nova Gorica (Slovenia)
PERLA pioneers the artistic revitalisation of abandoned or ecologically damaged areas through participatory Land Art and cultural co-creation. Designed as a cross-disciplinary alliance between artists, municipalities, spatial planners, and environmental experts, the project transforms degraded peri-urban or post-industrial sites into vibrant spaces of symbolic recovery and community engagement. It focuses particularly on vulnerable or declining regions across Central Europe, where socio-environmental fragmentation calls for both ecological and narrative healing.
The PERLA approach begins with community mapping and emotional diagnostics of space, capturing collective memories and symbolic perceptions of neglected landscapes. Artistic residencies, creative walks, and co-design workshops follow, producing temporary or semi-permanent Land Art works that integrate environmental recovery, storytelling, and public pedagogy. The project champions inclusive facilitation, circular economy principles, and youth participation, often using natural materials, flood residues, and found objects as the raw material for creative re-appropriation.
Outputs include a “Living Atlas” of regenerated sites, digital toolkits for participatory placemaking, and mobile exhibitions that document the transformation journey. PERLA also actively supports municipal replication by offering capacity-building modules, legal guidance, and engagement strategies—making it a key reference for cultural sustainability projects at the intersection of art, ecology, and disaster recovery. Its legacy positions art not only as a medium of expression but as a governance instrument for social cohesion and post-crisis regeneration. (EN) | RELANDART builds a direct synergy with PERLA by applying participatory artistic practices to regenerate disaster-scarred landscapes and emotionally damaged communities. PERLA, operating in Central Europe, developed a multi-actor methodology that leverages temporary Land Art, creative reuse, and inclusive co-design as tools to reactivate underused public spaces and ecologically degraded areas. RELANDART localises this approach to the Adriatic context, using post-disaster materials such as burnt wood and eroded debris as raw inputs for site-specific installations.
Like PERLA, RELANDART engages communities—particularly youth, women, and marginalised groups—in the ideation, creation, and interpretation phases. Both projects emphasise symbolic transformation, layering memory, ecology, and creative expression. RELANDART advances this by rooting the artistic process in trauma-informed memory mapping (A.1.1) and embedding installations within cross-border interpretive routes (A.1.5–A.1.6), giving permanence and visibility to what PERLA piloted as temporary activation.
From a governance standpoint, RELANDART expands on PERLA’s localised co-creation by integrating cross-partner peer reviews, participatory quality control, and MoUs for post-project reuse. Methodologically, RELANDART also echoes PERLA’s commitment to circularity, low-impact materials, and DNSH compliance, transforming destruction into regenerative narratives.
PERLA’s influence is most visible in RELANDART’s Output 1.1 (Pilot Typologies) and Output 1.2 (Joint Solutions), where artistic methods become scalable formats for symbolic, inclusive regeneration. In turn, RELANDART contributes to PERLA’s legacy by adapting and expanding its model to disaster resilience, climate-aware memory work, and cross-border cultural strategies. (EN), CULT-COAST – Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Tourism for Coastal Resilience
Programme: Interreg Italy–Croatia 2021–2027
Project Period: 2023–2026
Lead Partner: Regione Emilia-Romagna (Italy)
CULT-COAST is a flagship cross-border cooperation initiative dedicated to the sustainable management of cultural and natural heritage along the Adriatic coasts of Italy and Croatia. Led by Regione Emilia-Romagna, the project tackles growing pressures on fragile coastal landscapes caused by climate change, unbalanced tourism, and urban sprawl. Running from 2023 to 2026, it unites institutions, experts, and communities in a shared response to cultural and environmental vulnerability.
The project’s holistic strategy integrates environmental protection, cultural valorisation, and innovative forms of tourism. Coastal pilot sites host sensitive heritage assets—archaeological zones, historic saltworks, maritime landscapes—often exposed to erosion, salinisation, and overtourism. CULT-COAST develops digital inventories, impact assessments, and participatory conservation protocols aligned with the EU Green Deal, Biodiversity Strategy, and climate resilience agendas.
A key action is the creation of thematic cross-border routes blending cultural and ecological narratives, diversifying the regional offer and encouraging slower, more conscious travel. These itineraries are co-designed with municipalities, cultural actors, youth groups and marginalised communities, enhancing inclusion and place attachment. Heritage education modules and capacity-building sessions strengthen local stewardship and public awareness.
CULT-COAST builds robust governance models to support interregional policy alignment between Italy and Croatia, promoting long-term management strategies beyond the project’s lifespan. Through shared branding, coordinated actions, and policy dialogue, it reimagines the Adriatic coast as a model of regenerative heritage tourism and transnational cooperation. (EN) | CULT-COAST develops cross-border strategies for the sustainable management of cultural and natural heritage along the Adriatic coast, with pilot actions focused on heritage mapping, inclusive governance, and low-impact tourism. RELANDART draws on these activities to reinforce its own objectives of transforming disaster-scarred landscapes into community-led cultural assets.
Specifically, RELANDART capitalises on CULT-COAST’s work on geo-referenced documentation of coastal heritage sites—adapting its mapping protocols and spatial data integration methods to document post-disaster traces and embed them in digital geo-stories (A.1.1). These visual and narrative formats serve as the foundation for RELANDART’s participatory memory work and interpretive storytelling.
CULT-COAST’s multi-stakeholder governance model and capacity-building paths for municipalities and youth inform RELANDART’s co-design processes (A.1.2) and educational components (A.1.6), helping ensure accessibility, gender equity, and transgenerational engagement in the regeneration of damaged sites. Shared inclusion indicators and facilitation guidelines create methodological coherence between the two projects.
In terms of tourism valorisation, CULT-COAST’s development of thematic cultural-ecological routes provides a strong reference for RELANDART’s symbolic Land Art itinerary (A.1.5), both in terms of route logic and visitor engagement tools. RELANDART adapts CULT-COAST’s communication templates and signage strategies to enhance cross-border visibility and interpretation.
Finally, the two projects align in framing regeneration as a cultural and ecological mission: CULT-COAST restores and protects existing heritage, while RELANDART reactivates degraded spaces through temporary artistic reuse. Their coordinated outputs contribute to a unified Adriatic model of heritage-based resilience and community-driven tourism. (EN)

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 312 477.00

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 249 981.60

Total EU funding (co-financing rate): 93.27%

Co-financing sources:

ERDF: Amount, EUR 249 981.60. Co-financing rate, 93.27%.
Others: Amount, EUR 44 444.40.

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

(bullets are inserted automatically and may be incorrectly placed)

Deliverables:

Inclusive Cross-Border Geo-Stories of Memory and Damage.
PM & CM packages.
Cross-Border Creative Labs Package.
Cross-Project Capacity Building and Peer Learning Summary Brief.
Land Art Installations.
Cross-Border Land Art Documentation & Audio Storytelling Package.
Cross-Border Public Reopening Events Package.
Promotion and Visibility Kit.
RELANDART Cross-Border Route Map & Highlights.
RELANDART Cross-Border Route Logic Synthesis.
Cross-border Route Map & Digital Platform.
Land Art Site Interpretation Files
RELANDART Playbook
MoU and Uptake Documentation Set.

Contribution to wider strategies and policies:

EUStrategyAdriaticIonianRegion The RELANDART project contributes significantly to the objectives of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR), particularly aligning with Pillar 4: Sustainable Tourism and Cultural Heritage, which aims to foster cultural identity and sustainable economic growth through responsible tourism development.
By focusing on symbolic and artistic regeneration of disaster-affected landscapes, RELANDART addresses EUSAIR’s goal of protecting and valorizing the macro-region’s unique cultural and natural heritage. The project creates a cross-border cultural route linking Italy and Croatia, promoting a shared territorial identity and enhancing cohesion across the Adriatic-Ionian area.
Key contributions to Pillar 4 flagship initiatives include:
- Sustainable tourism development: Engaging local communities in participatory landscape recovery that respects environmental limits while enriching cultural tourism offers.
- Biodiversity and green infrastructure: Reusing disaster residues creatively supports ecosystem protection and raises awareness of natural heritage values.
- Capacity-building and knowledge exchange: Strengthening cooperation among municipalities, cultural bodies, and civil society fosters integrated governance and best practice sharing.
RELANDART involves Pillar and National Coordinators through structured communication channels such as coordination meetings, workshops, and dissemination activities, ensuring alignment with EUSAIR’s strategic framework and enabling the project to feed into macro-regional policy development.
Through these mechanisms, RELANDART enhances cross-border collaboration, institutional capacity, and inclusive governance models—contributing decisively to EUSAIR’s vision of a resilient, culturally rich, and economically sustainable Adriatic and Ionian region.
EuropeanGreenDeal The RELANDART project contributes significantly to the objectives of the European Green Deal by fostering climate resilience, biodiversity preservation, and sustainable cultural innovation in disaster-affected Adriatic landscapes. By creatively reusing post-disaster materials such as burnt wood and flood debris, RELANDART promotes nature-based solutions that mitigate environmental degradation while supporting ecosystem restoration. This approach aligns with the Green Deal’s commitment to building climate-resilient territories and restoring biodiversity, turning fragile areas into living cultural and ecological assets.
Through its focus on circular economy principles, RELANDART transforms waste residues into lasting Land Art installations, exemplifying sustainable resource use and reducing environmental impact. The project also advances inclusive, low-impact tourism by developing a cross-border cultural route that strengthens local economies while safeguarding natural and cultural heritage, resonating with the Green Deal’s vision for sustainable growth and green job creation.
By engaging diverse local stakeholders—including youth, vulnerable groups, and community organizations—RELANDART fosters social inclusion and capacity building, supporting the just transition to a climate-neutral society. The participatory model encourages equitable access to green opportunities and reinforces community ownership of recovery efforts.
Moreover, RELANDART actively connects with EU networks and policy actors to share knowledge and scale best practices, ensuring its contribution resonates beyond the pilot sites to influence regional and European strategies.
In integrating environmental stewardship with cultural and creative approaches, RELANDART embodies the European Green Deal’s ambition for a sustainable, resilient, and socially inclusive Europe—demonstrating how cross-border cooperation can turn ecological challenges into opportunities for regeneration and cohesion.
Other NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS
The RELANDART project embodies the spirit and objectives of the New European Bauhaus by merging sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusivity to reimagine disaster-affected landscapes in the Adriatic region. Through collaborative design and artistic interventions, the project transforms fragile, scarred environments into vibrant cultural spaces that celebrate ecological regeneration and community resilience.
By engaging artists, architects, landscape designers, and local communities in co-creation and symbolic recovery, RELANDART fosters innovation at the intersection of nature, art, and social cohesion. This participatory model reflects the New European Bauhaus’s call for human-centered design that integrates environmental responsibility with cultural expression.
The project’s Land Art installations, storytelling platforms, and educational resources create accessible, inspiring experiences that promote sustainable living and emotional connection to place. RELANDART advances inclusivity by involving youth and underrepresented groups, ensuring that aesthetic transformation supports social equity and community engagement.
It also contributes to the New European Bauhaus by applying circular economy principles—reusing post-disaster materials to reduce waste and environmental impact—while promoting sustainable design adapted to local contexts.
Through cross-border cooperation and knowledge exchange, RELANDART supports a cultural and environmental shift aligned with EU priorities for greener, more beautiful, and socially just spaces. It demonstrates how art and culture can help address climate challenges and improve life in vulnerable regions.
By combining sustainable innovation, heritage preservation, and community empowerment, RELANDART offers a replicable model supporting the New European Bauhaus’s vision for living better, together, in harmony with nature.
Other THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL ROUTES
The RELANDART project aligns closely with the objectives of the European Council for Cultural Routes by fostering cross-border cooperation that celebrates shared cultural heritage and promotes sustainable territorial development. Through the creation of a symbolic, cross-borderLand Art Route across Italy and Croatia, RELANDART enhances the visibility and accessibility of peripheral landscapes affected by environmental disasters, transforming them into meaningful cultural corridors.
By linking artistic installations, local narratives, and ecological memory, the project reinforces intangible cultural heritage, connecting communities through shared histories of resilience and regeneration. This reflects the Council’s emphasis on cultural routes as tools for intercultural dialogue, social inclusion, and regional cohesion.
RELANDART’s participatory model engages local authorities, civil society, artists, and tourism actors, fostering collaborative stewardship of cultural landscapes. It supports the professionalization of cultural tourism by integrating interpretive tools, digital platforms, and educational resources that enrich visitor experience and understanding.
Furthermore, RELANDART contributes to sustainable tourism by encouraging low-impact, community-driven practices that preserve both identity and environment. The route serves as a replicable model for regions aiming to valorize heritage through artistic innovation and ecological sensitivity.
Through ongoing cooperation and knowledge exchange between Italy and Croatia, RELANDART strengthens institutional capacities and expands cultural networks. It promotes gender balance and accessibility, ensuring inclusive participation and societal benefit.
By embedding environmental narratives in the cultural route, RELANDART advances the Council’s vision of heritage as a dynamic, living resource supporting sustainable regional development and intercultural understanding.
Other NATIONAL STRATEGIES IN ITALY AND CROATIA
RELANDART aligns with and reinforces national priorities in both Italy and Croatia related to cultural heritage preservation, disaster risk management, and sustainable regional development. In Italy, the project complements the National Strategy for Cultural Heritage and Landscape, which promotes the valorization of cultural assets as drivers for economic recovery and social cohesion, particularly in peripheral and disaster-affected areas.
The project supports Italy’s commitments to the National Adaptation Strategy for climate change by introducing innovative symbolic recovery approaches that enhance community resilience and ecological regeneration. By integrating participatory cultural practices with environmental objectives, RELANDART contributes to Italy’s goals for inclusive, sustainable tourism and rural revitalization.
In Croatia, RELANDART responds to the National Strategy for Cultural Development and the Country’s efforts to strengthen cultural tourism and safeguard intangible heritage. The project’s focus on symbolic regeneration of disaster-impacted sites resonates with national aims to foster local identity and sustainable economic growth in vulnerable regions.
Moreover, RELANDART supports Croatia’s climate adaptation and environmental protection strategies by promoting low-impact artistic interventions that restore natural and cultural landscapes. Through cross-sectoral cooperation, the project encourages policy coherence between cultural, environmental, and territorial governance frameworks in Croatia.
By facilitating knowledge exchange and capacity building between Italian and Croatian partners, RELANDART enhances the implementation of national strategies on both sides of the border. It provides practical models and tools that can be mainstreamed into local and national policies, fostering resilient and culturally rich territories aligned with European priorities.
Other EU CIRCULAR ECONOMY ACTION PLAN
RELANDART directly contributes to the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan by integrating upcycling into cultural regeneration processes. Through the creative transformation of post-disaster residues—wood, mud, debris, damaged furniture—into Land Art installations and interpretive materials, the project embodies core principles of resource efficiency, waste reduction, and sustainable reuse. This aligns with EU objectives to increase the circular material use rate and promote sustainable design, especially in construction and cultural infrastructure.
The RELANDART Playbook includes specific guidance on ecodesign and safe handling of natural and anthropogenic residues, reinforcing the EU’s emphasis on durability, reusability, and the minimisation of environmental harm. In doing so, the project contributes to sectoral strategies on construction and public space design, while empowering communities and municipalities with replicable tools. The use of storytelling and public engagement also supports the EU’s goals of consumer empowerment and transparent communication.
Under the EUSAIR Strategy, RELANDART contributes to Pillar 4 (Sustainable Tourism) by valorising damaged landscapes through participatory cultural routes. The project supports the "Fostering sustainable and responsible tourism" flagship by converting disaster-exposed areas into educational and tourism assets based on circular economy values. Partners will liaise with National Coordinators and Pillar 4 representatives in Italy and Croatia through two online consultations and the final capitalisation webinar, inviting them to assess replication potential and disseminate RELANDART outputs across the Adriatic-Ionian region.
Finally, the project contributes to national and regional strategies on green transition, education, and risk adaptation by embedding outputs into public service delivery, cultural policies, and school curricula—ensuring impact at all three policy levels.

Programme Common Output Indicator:

RCO 116 - Jointly developed solutions, Measurement unit:
RCO 084 - Pilot actions developed jointly and implemented in projects, Measurement unit:

Programme Common Result Indicator:

RCR 104 - Solutions taken up or up-scaled by organisations, Measurement unit:

Project part of European Union Macro-Regional or Sea Basin Strategy: EUSAIR

EUSAIR Priority (Policy) area / Horizontal action:

EUSAIR Degree of compliance:

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

Financing programme

2021 - 2027 Interreg VI-A Italy-Croatia

Latest month of project-partner-call data publication

2026-06

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

99 / 99 (100%)

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

581 / 581 (100%)

Notes on the data

Languages

Contact Form

Reviving Natural Disaster-Struck Landscapes through Land Art Routes

Description

Thematic information

Partners (3)

Partners map

Summary

Investments, deliverables, policy contributions

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

Disclaimer