Cinema and city image

This paper aims at contributing to the debate on creative and alternative tourism in urban environment. As you know, there are different definitions of creative and alternative tourism (Richards, 2011). However all of them recall some fundamental conditions: the first is the experiential dimension of tourism, in which the role of the tourist is no more just that of a passive user but instead that of a builder of tourist experiences; in these experiences he/she actively takes part in different activities (Gilli, 2009°; Ferrari, 2006); the second condition is that they have to be authentic experiences, which allow to come into contact with the local reality and to relate to its community (Raymond, 2007; Landry, 2010; Zukin, 2010). Of course, it is not related only to little urban or rural realities but also to those great metropolises, which have processed a complex, often multi-ethnic, culture, with elements of innovation but also of tradition and heritage. Cinema is one of the areas of interest of alternative and creative tourism. It is a new form of cultural creativity, which has various effects on cities and the urban tourism (Beeton, 2005; Jones and Smith, 2005; Hudson and Brent Ritchie, 2006). In fact, the functions of film industry are numerous. We can try to summarize them quickly: the first is that of creating stable cultural industries, allowing as a consequence the birth of many work places. An example is that of the complex activity of Film Commissions, but also Film Festivals. The second function is to strengthen the urban image in terms of international competition, by means of an increase of its capacity of attracting resources and of presenting itself as a dynamic city; the third is that of attracting different tourist segments interested in cities and in places that can become location of television series, advertising spots or movies. The fourth function, in which we are particularly interested, allows cities to reshape their identity through the cinema, suggesting in films an image of urban places different from the stereotyped and standardized one. The international literature has being interested in tourism linked with cinema since nineties (Riley and van Doren, 1992; Schofield, 1996; Tooke and Baker, 1996; Riley et al., 1998; Busby and Klug, 2001; Kim and Richardson, 2003; Beeton, 2005; Hudson et al., 2011). In Italy the interest in this subject is more recent and it is directly linked to the strategies of urban repositioning of many urban centres following the deindustrialisation and the resulting birth of Film Commissions in various Italian regions (Martinengo and Savoja, 2003; Di Cesare and Rech, 2007; Provenzano, 2007; Fagiani 2008, 2009 and 2010; Boni, 2010). This paper tries to present Italian scenery of last decades with reference to the relation between cinema and tourism first of all in urban environment, emphasizing also some important critical aspects. Therefore we will analyse various case studies, some with effects at a national level, which are related to the so-called domestic tourism, and others, of international importance, linked to the Italian positioning and image abroad.