Siena, 31 January 2023 – In January a series of meetings were held at the IIS ES Piccolomini institutes in Siena, the Poliziani high schools in Montepulciano and the R. Lambruschini linguistic high school in Montalcino to discuss the topics of TUSCANY CROSSING 2023, trail and race international running competition now in its tenth edition and which will be held in Val d'Orcia from 21st to 23rd April next.

 

The themes of safety, environmental protection, pollution, sustainability, knowledge, respect and protection  of the territory,  and those of economic activator and social glue with experiences professional and identity food and wine as well as voluntary work were brought to the attention of the students to raise awareness of current issues and show how a sporting event is capable of activating multiple collaborations and interactions on several fronts: institutional, economic and associative.

To celebrate the tenth edition of the Tuscany Crossing trail, the organizers wanted to involve the territory more and following the guidelines launched in Chianciano Terme last October on the occasion of the General States of Tourism, they decided to bring the various teachings of the race into schools.

 

For a transversality of the themes and possible synergies, Roberto Amaddii of the ASD Siena Runners, patron of the race, involved the cultural association Il Liceone di Siena which last year helped to create a twinning between the schools of Siena, Pienza, Montepulciano for ad hoc initiatives in the wake of Pope Pius II, to which the Linguistico di Montalcino has also been added this year.

 

The cultural association Il Liceone, strengthened by the twinning in place in the province, thus brought TUSCANY CROSSING to schools when lessons resumed, starting right from Siena with the Liceo Classico - to which it is statutorily linked -, the Liceo Musicale and the Artistic to talk to students about the many themes that the trail race embodies and which are now our daily lives even before our future

The meetings in Montepulciano with the Poliziani high schools and in Montalcino with the R. Lambruschini high school followed in the same way.

In the three appointments to talk about the race and how much the territory is involved in terms of protection, sustainability, safety, hospitality and culture, the reports of experts from the various sectors alternated: the past-president Alessandro Bellini, the current president Giuliana Testa and councilor Paolo Panzieri of the Il Liceone Association; Roberto Amaddii, president of ASD Siena Runners organizer of the Tuscany Crossing; Simone Bastianoni, Ord. Prof. Sustainability Delegate for the University of Siena to talk about sustainability and the environment; Arch. Massimo Betti and Claudio Torsellini, SIT Territorial Planning of the Province of Siena, to illustrate the commitment of the Provincial Authority in terms of territorial safety with routes and planning activities; Andrea Monaci, of Intesa SpA to illustrate the innovation represented by the energy communities; Eva Pratesi and Barbara Latini, directors of the Siena Experience Italian Hub to tell the story of the area with its excellence and cultural, naturalistic and food and wine experiences.

The interventions focused on the territory in which the competition takes place so that the students could perceive the impact of general themes in terms of concrete actions of several subjects involved in a network of collaboration and synergy.

Since its inception, the Tuscany Crossing trail has always aimed to intercept enthusiasts from all over the world in total awareness and respect for nature and the territory, enhancing the welcome, the culture, the unique and unrepeatable production. From the outset, the Plogging process gave substance to waste collection on the race course, becoming part of a circuit and world championship over time.

The professor. Simone Bastianoni introduced the kids to the theme of the environment and sustainability bringing it back to our territory and to the actions in the field today starting from that 2011, the carbon free year of the province of Siena and how everything is interconnected starting from the choices of our small daily actions. Prof Bastianoni illustrated the SIENA CARBON NEUTRAL project, a project shared between the Provincial Administration, the University of Siena and the Mps Foundation which demonstrates how in Siena it is natural to live in harmony with Nature, respect it and always have it in mind since it was the first large area in Europe ISO 14064-1 certified, having reached the goal of Carbon Neutrality in our area since 2011, 4 years earlier than expected, 14 years earlier than other greener cities. It is a project to which many organizations have joined to give their testimony and to which it is still possible to join: www.carbonneutralsiena.it .

The arch. Claudio Torsellini spoke of the classification in the regulatory context, role, functions and planning and programming activities of the Province as a territorial body of a vast area. He illustrated the territory, the resources and protection tools for its protection and enhancement (landscape constraints - UNESCO sites), to guarantee sustainable development of the community, of the activities and of the induced transformations, providing examples of virtuous actions and strategies promoted by the Province of Siena (Territorial Coordination Plan - System of Natural Reserves - Via Francigena - Soft Mobility Masterplan) such as the Soft Mobility Masterplan as an example of enhancement and usability of the territory close, for purposes, to Tuscany Crossing._cc781905-5cde -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_http://www.provincia.siena.it/servizi/pianificazione-territoriale-esit/masterplan-della-mobilita-dolce .

 

To Andrea Monaci, director of INTESA SpA https://intesa.siena.it/, the task of introducing the theme of innovation with the 'energy communities' was entrusted and of what can be done at zero km also for energy, still in progress in terms of legislation.

Eva Pratesi and Barbara Latini of the Siena Experience Italian Hub - https://www.sieitalianhub.com/  partner in this edition of Tuscany Crossing - to illustrate how through the trail you can tell and make known traditions, excellence, culture, history, treasures and peculiarities in terms of welcome, hospitality, experiences and emotions immersive.

The meetings and themes developed around the Tuscany Crossing trail and carried forward by the Siena-Pienza twinning in the wake of Pope Pius II will lead to a final day in Pienza before the race in which the students will be 'guides for a day' illustrating in their own way - narrating, setting music and performing - the historical points of the city of Pienza culminating in a final conference where, starting from Pope Pius II, nature, environment, culture and protection for the development and promotion of the territory will be discussed.

“The idea of associating our Institute - explains Federico Frati, director of IIS ES Piccolomini - with a mad race that starts at midnight and runs through the most beautiful places in the Val d'Orcia in silence seemed immediately interesting to me. The race is an easy metaphor for the educational path of our students, this particular type of race that looks more at the discovery of the territory than at the finish line, really resembles the personal growth process that the school must promote. Beyond the competitive outcomes, in fact, the encounter with places, people, the typical features of our culture, within an environmental context of incomparable value, will be able to constitute an opportunity for our students to increase awareness of the heritage of which they are keepers. I thank the Il Liceone association for having created this initiative: in the footsteps of Enea Silvio Piccolomini there are always new and stimulating pages to discover. When the time comes, we will be pleased to close the Institute door behind us and transform ourselves into an "on the road" school for a few hours.

“In this tenth edition - explains Roberto Amaddii, patron of the trail race and president of the ASD Siena Runners Association which promotes it -  Tuscany Crossing wanted to involve schools more e_cc781905-5cde-3194- bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ students to make them better understand what can trigger a sporting phenomenon of this magnitude: not only sport and well-being but also awareness and responsibility towards the environment in which they live made of nature, culture, products, hospitality, identity , traditions and innovation. We are all responsible and involved, each for our part".

"The event of the race represented by the TUSCANY CROSSING - explains the president of the Il Liceone association Giuliana Testa - made us reflect as an association on the issues it touches: sport, territory, environment, sustainability, safety, innovation, culture and food and wine activities they represent everyday reality but maybe not all kids are fully aware of the interactions and connections that exist between them. As an association of former students, it is important for us to bring concreteness to students and to make known how culture is generated in every area from our simple actions".

Tuscany Crossing is organized under the aegis of the UISP promotional body recognized by CONI and is proof of qualification for the most important races such as the Ultra trail of Mont Blanc and the most famous US 100 miles "Western States". It is also registered in the ULTRATRAIL competition calendar.

From the first edition, Tuscany Crossing adheres to the "I don't throw my waste" campaign which provides for the absolute respect for the environment of the paths crossed and is also a qualifying test for the Plogging Championship, a discipline that combines sport with waste collection.

Furthermore, along the entire route in each village or town there are refreshment points managed by local voluntary associations where natural products are provided which tend to enhance the area to allow all participants to get in direct contact with both the beauties of the landscape than with local tastes, flavors and traditions. It is estimated that over 400 volunteers belonging to about 20 associations are involved during the event.

The "Tuscany Crossing" is a TRAIL that crosses the Val d'Orcia and presents itself as an all-encompassing experience that combines the passion for running with that of travel, love for the landscape, the territory recognized as a World Heritage Site since 2004 with its naturalistic, artistic and food and wine excellences, sustainability, respect for the environment, the educational aspect and the circular economy.

The route - with running and walking - retraces the paths that pilgrims, wayfarers, saints, artists and great leaders crossed in ancient times immersed in a nature never abandoned by man but which, on the contrary, has helped to shape the landscape and that we must teach to preserve. It is a kind of off-road race that allows you to fully experience the environmental, historical, food and wine and social context by providing the opportunity to get to know this area of Tuscany in a completely suggestive way and to stop for several days to visit the region.

Since its first edition, the event has had an international character with an average of 20/25 nations represented with about 70/80 athletes each. In 2017, the US magazine "Forbes" even included the race among the "Top 12 Marathons Worth the trip to Europe".

With the resumption of the event after the pandemic, given the countless requests received, the "TUSCANY CROSSING" 2023 edition expands its offer of races and the territory involved by introducing a new distance: that of the 100 Miglia already very popular abroad, especially in the USA and the possibility of making a long journey of 54 km by walking.

This year, to celebrate the 10-year milestone, we have developed a series of collateral meetings on the territory for greater identity involvement with repercussions on everyone, not only of the participants, but of the citizens for greater awareness and responsibility for the themes that the trail race has brought with it since its inception: courses with schools, insights into the environment and related tourism-cultural, food and wine and of course sports.

Its purposes are:

Sporting aspect: validity of the competition at an international level for both professionals and enthusiasts, development and collaboration skills for the realization of similar and derivative events throughout the year

Promotional aspect: validity of the related event and economic attractiveness at a cultural tourism level as designed by the States General of Culture in Chianciano in October and in line with the proposals of the Tuscany Region through its Agencies - Fondazione Sistema Toscana, Toscana Promozione Turistica and the Territorial Marketing sector of the Anci on municipal areas.

Educational/training aspect: meeting with schools to enhance sport, well-being, health, knowledge of the area, commitment to respect for the environment, awareness of everyone's responsibility to protect the places in which we live, safety , respect for the community and development of the civic sense of the communities; possibility of activating school/work alternation courses

Economic aspect: ability of the tender to activate attraction for the local economic players

Social aspect: ability to create alliances and get involved with all local players in both the sports and voluntary sectors. Interest in developing a network of collaborations to create new initiatives and new interests or implement existing ones for a presence of quality, inclusion and respect that binds with citizens in an active involvement. Modern Wayfarers will be able to enjoy the beauty of dawn, the most daring and slowest magnificent sunsets even at night immersed in a fairytale landscape.

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Il Liceone is a non-profit, non-partisan and apolitical cultural association made up of former students of the Liceo Classico "Enea Silvio Piccolomini" of Siena, teachers and/or former teachers of the same institution and current students to promote and enhance the scholastic path carried out by each high school student through the aggregation of students and former students, also with the aim of facilitating future orientations, giving continuity to the sense of belonging and keeping alive the ideal and sentimental bond between the old and new generations of students; promote cultural initiatives and activities capable of maintaining and increasing the value of classical studies and school-related activities; organize playful and convivial events in line with the spirit and tradition of the Student Committee's initiatives; undertake initiatives and identify contacts aimed at increasing participation in initiatives, including external ones, proposed by our evolving civilization.

ASD Sienarunners is a sports club created to promote amateur activities related to running and other similar disciplines, educational and networking activities, new methodologies to improve the organization of sports events and cultural activities for a better use of free time.

The Siena Experience Italian Hub is an educational laboratory open to anyone interested in Italian culture with courses, experiential workshops, activities and field trips for foreign students and tourists.

A variety of creative and interactive workshops introduce an immersive and first-hand experience of Italian culture by providing an immersive first-hand exploration of the Tuscan and Sienese way of life through certified guides. It is an educational center for the academic and personal growth of deep learning of the Italian culture through the possibility of having Siena and the territory of the province as a global classroom and becoming part of its local community.

 

 

Uff Press Il Liceone/Tuscany Crossing