Cycling: here is “Bike’s friends” hotels portal

by Annalisa Tancredi

Are you just leaving for the holidays but still haven’t found a place to store your bike? Are you look for the best hotel for you and your bike? Maybe you should take a look at www.albergabici.it website, the new service promoted by Fiab (Bike’s Friends Italian Federation) to find the best bike-friendly hotels in Italy.
On www.albergabici.it cyclists and cycle-excursionists can easily look through a list of over 1800 accommodations for reception, storage and maintenance of bicycles. A complete map of hotels, cottages, b&bs and campings chosen for quality of services available to satisfy who love to ride and enjoy tourism on two wheels: covered and safe shelters for bikes, maintenance shops, hire bikes, guides, maps and reinforced menu. In 2012 has been also introduced "Bicycle’s friends” brand to identify structures that have all the ideal requirements to host cyclists.

The Fiab organizational officer Michele Mutterle explained us in detail what is Albergabici and what are the features: "The site www.albergabici.it is the only one national website that lists hotels that provide services to travelers on bicycle. The goal is to promote facilities like accommodation for travelers on bike to develop a form of sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism".

How are you promoting the program to Italian hotelier? 
"Many hotelier knows the program thanks to the website or just because they were invited to join us by our partners and our 130 associations during their travels on bike around Italy. Until now the site counts 1.800 accommodation".

This year Albergabici has introduced "Bicycle’s friends” brand: what are the features required to get it?
"The “ideal” hotel must accept a guest even for one night, give the chance to dry their clothes, have a safe and covered place to put the bikes for the night, have an angle with the main tools in which the cyclist can perform maintenance and "dirt their hands", have information on cycling routes and maps of the area and then provide a hearty breakfast. Among the 1800 housing on the site we have selected 200 for the printed catalog which have all the characteristics to be considered “Bike’s friends". Those hotels, in addition, receive a certificate, a plaque and two copies of our BC magazine".

In addition to the site, how is the catalog spread among the cyclists? 
"The catalog was sent as an attachment to the magazine to all our 15.000 members and is distributed at major trade fair we attend". 

Finally, what are the most popular Italian regions which ones best equipped?
"The best equipped hotels in Italy are located in Piemonte, Veneto, Lombardia, Puglia and Emilia Romagna. The most popular regions among tourists are Trentino Alto Adige and Toscana".

Each hotel in Italy can sign their personal data for free and all necessary information about the services offered to cyclists. Annually they had to update their personal data that are crossed with Bicitalia.org, a website that allows the geo-localization of hotels and compare their proximity to bike routes.

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United territory for the environment

by Eleonora Anello

«Even before it started, it is an example of cooperation between public, private and environmental agencies and the territory». These are the words of Cesare Naj, president of the Fondazione per leggere, promoter of Form@mbiente, complex initiative of environmental governance that aims to improve and update the knowledge for implementing common policies and broad participation in the environmental field. The project prepared by the foundation - Biblioteche Sud Ovest Milano, with 45 local municipalities, the Consorzio dei Comuni dei Navigli, AICA, and many other realities (Amaga and E2sco among others), wishes to speak to administrators and operators of public administration, to teachers and to the professional and manufacturing sector, in order to facilitate the creation of a true environmental culture in a participate way.

Form@mbiente is a structured program, sponsored by the Province of Milan and realized with the contribution of Fondazione Cariplo, which is composed of 4 complementary and interrelated actions. It will start with the information training course for local administrators and technicians, together with other similar meetings addressed to high schools and to the private manufacturing sector in order to involve the majority of citizens. Environmental issues like water, waste, energy, air, technology, home and territory will be discussed, even with real lessons on the field.

The second step concerns the drafting of the Action and Best Practices Development Plan, a document drafted in a participated and shared way by those involved in the courses. It will have to be adopted by participating municipalities. This will simply move to the third action, the most pragmatic, which schedules the creation and launch of joint purchasing groups. This is a particularly strategic activity because it give autonomy to the parties involved, building a legacy that will survive even after the project will completed.

The last step is about the communication for encouraging participation. The measures will be preceded by careful spatial analysis in order to modulate the effectiveness. It will then launched an essay and photography contest, especially addressed to young people. Texts and images selected will create a publication edited by the Fondazione per leggere. To stay posted, the citizens will be able to rely on the official website of the initiative and on the Facebook.

Form@mbiente ends May 30, 2013 with a big final event for presenting the results achieved.

«AICA has been involved in a real construction phase of a project with the territory - said the director of envi.info, Emanuela Rosio - starting from local needs. We are confident that this method will allow to develop synergies and to involve local people and institutions in a real change in behaviors and awareness about the central role that communication and participation play in the process of change».

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