The Rome Municipality aims to revamp the local economy with a wide range of sweeping reform policies designed to pave the way to new joint public and private investments that have already produced significant results in many areas. Indeed, the Rome Administration is setting the stage for stable and long-lasting economic growth thanks to innovative initiatives such as the upgrading of the First Centre for Tourism in Rome and of the Historical City Centre within the framework of the UNESCO management plan. The objective is to establish relationships with all European and Mediterranean Cities that boast important historical city hubs.   

However, in order to implement this complex urban plan for developing and sustaining the tourist industry, a second centre for tourism in Rome has been developed with five projects financed by the private and the public sector together:

-The trade-fair and conference complex expected to become the largest in Europe.

-Golf facilities to attract the 100 million golf tourists positioned at the highest end of the tourist industry thanks to the construction of an 18 hole golf course and the extension of the existing golf courses established with the Italian Golf Federation.

-The port and concert complex with the highest capacity for recreational boating of the Tyrrhenian coast.

-The construction of the new Fiumicino port; with the marina to feature extra 1,500 berths, in addition to the already existing 3,500. (200 of these berths will be reserved for recreational yachts and boats up to 100 meters long, that is the same capacity as Monaco)

-Theme Parks:  the Roman Empire Park and the Film Park; finally the Green and Marine Parks designed to attract nature-loving tourists.

These Five Major projects will be implemented on the basis of 23 development initiatives in an area of about 27 thousand hectares in the West side of the City across the areas of Eur, Ostia, Civitavecchia, Fiumicino, Appia Antica and Via Aurelia.

Eight of the 23 development projects are already under way, in particular ‘La Nuvola’ otherwise known as ‘the Cloud’, the New EUR Conference Centre designed by the Roman Architect Massimiliano Fuksas, the Aquarium under the Eur pond, the Roman Empire and the Italian Film Industry Parks, the Ostia ‘Water Front’, the extension of the Ostia marina, the Made in Italy permanent exhibition in the Palazzo della Civiltà Romana and the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Eur. The Formula 1 initiative is designed to relaunch the image of this district and its original role at the international level, promoting its unique architectural and urban planning traits, its museums and conferences, exhibitions and trade fairs complexes.

The whole tourist package – including the projects related to the history and religion of Rome – is estimated to produce a return of over one billion Euros per annum for the country as a whole, creating 9,800 new jobs, and attracting 160 million worth of private investments for the first phase, and 324,000 and over 1.3 million people during the time of the Grand Prix.

However, some projects of the Rome Second Centre for Tourism are already under way and will be completed in ten years with major spin-offs in terms of number of tourists and economic growth. The investments planned for this Second Centre will amount to 7 billion Euros, mainly deriving from the private and business sectors.

In addition, the Rome Municipal Council has approved an exciting plan for excavation and public works that is expected to have significant economic benefits. The excavation works regulation has been amended in order to wire up the whole city, giving new momentum to the telecommunications industry. This is a historical turning point because it is now possible to lay fibre optic cables throughout the city thanks to new technologies such as ad hoc probing systems. In fact, there will be no need to open up road works sites, thereby reducing the excavation expenses by 70 percent and allowing for the wiring up of the City of Rome to become more economically viable for enterprises. 

All these examples – and many more additional projects – demonstrate how the decisions adopted by local authorities and cities in general play a fundamental role for overall economic progress. Indeed, they can have an innovative impact on the entire planning of their territory, by combining best practices in terms of sound local governance and local development.