Aims and objectives

Project “Egeria” proposes a holistic approach to pilgrimage monuments. It highlights the multiple facets of the significance of these monuments: their spiritual content, their importance for religious communities and the issues that stem from the study and management of the pilgrimage monuments within present-day contexts.

The main goal of the project has been the creation of a network of cooperation for the documentation, preservation and enhancement of the pilgrimage monuments in the wider Mediterranean region. The network consists of public, private, religious and secular institutions from Italy, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt. Each one of these institutions is engaged in different ways in the management and study of pilgrimage sites.

An equally important objective for “Egeria” has been the development of a shared, trans-national methodology and management tools for cultural heritage. Such methodology and tools are based on the exchange of expertise and experience among the project partners as well as international scientific standards. The advancement of common principles and methodologies for the documentation, conservation, restoration and enhancement of pilgrimage monuments and sites is considered necessary given the wealth of such monuments in the region of the Mediterranean and the fact that many of them are popular pilgrimage and tourist destinations nowadays.

”Egeria” aims at the promotion of pilgrimage monuments not only as symbols of inter-cultural, peaceful encounters, but also as the actual scenes of such activities based on the principle of tolerance and spirituality. Moreover, it is felt strongly that, under expert control, the management of pilgrimage sites can contribute greatly to the development of cultural tourism, always taking into consideration the specific economic and social conditions of each region. The project also endorses the promotion of knowledge about the monuments’ historical, religious, architectural and artistic importance and suggests cultural itineraries that are based on the pilgrimage monuments.

Project “Egeria” uses as a springboard for the accomplishment of the above objectives, the recording of mostly Christian pilgrimage destinations and monuments. This would serve as a basis for the recording of all other places of pilgrimage, independently of the religion they may belong to. The project advances its objectives by means of a number of activities and products.