A digital project to help you discover Avola anytime, anywhere, right on your smartphone.
In 2021, Sicily Mirabilia was born, an innovative project to enhance the local area, entirely conceived, created, and donated free of charge to the city by our association, with the free patronage and logistical support of the Municipality of Avola, then led by the Honorable Luca Cannata.
The goal was ambitious and far-sighted: to make Avola's cultural and artistic heritage accessible at any time, through a digital platform accessible via smartphone.
Thanks to a thorough mapping of the area, the city's main points of historical and artistic interest were selected and documented: churches, monuments, squares, and iconic landmarks, even those often closed or difficult to access. Each site was photographed in high definition, with 360° shots and aerial images, and accompanied by descriptive information and historical texts edited by Professor Francesca Gringeri Pantano, available in multiple languages for tourists.
To make the project truly accessible in the field, physical totems with QR codes were installed in various locations throughout the city. Visitors could simply scan the code to access an immersive digital guide, which could tell the story of the locations even during the evening hours, on closed days, or independently, using the device we all carry with us these days: our phones.
A modern, useful idea, capable of combining technology and memory, tourism and accessibility, which represented a quantum leap in the way Avola is experienced and narrated. Unfortunately, just weeks before the 2022 local elections, the totems were vandalized, compromising their full functionality. The incident was publicly denounced, but it didn't dampen our determination.
Today, thanks to the work of the new South-East Sicily platform, the project is ready for rebirth. We are already working on the restoration, expansion, and reactivation of the system, with the aim of restoring the totems and relaunching Sicily Mirabilia as a permanent tool for residents, tourists, schools, and anyone who wants to truly explore Avola, its every facet and corner.
South-East Sicily's projects are tools for growth and cohesion, designed to promote the region's resources and engage local communities in a shared and sustainable development journey.