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From October 27 – October 29, the partners of EPIC, Experience Prato Industrial Culture funded by the European Urban Initiative programme, gathered in Prato for the Opening Site Visit. We were joined by partners from cities and organisations across Europe — including Miskolc, Plzen, Bilbao, and the host city Prato. Site visits are excellent opportunities to promote peer-to-peer learning and collaborative knowledge exchanges. Led by the Municipality of Prato, EPIC promotes sustainable industrial tourism by enhancing the city’s industrial heritage through digital experiences, engaging local communities, and fostering collaborative governance with businesses and cultural partners.
We are happy to share that with the Opening Site Visit, the EPIC project is now in the transfer of knowledge stage. During the meeting, Stefanija Hrle Aiello presented the final work package which will ensure that the models and innovations successfully tested and implemented in Prato are able to be fluidly transferred to transfer partner cities. Our role allows Eutropian to leverage our expertise on heritage and transfers of knowledge, while continuing to develop knowledge on sustainable tourism.
In our two days, we learned from presentations by Work Package delivery partners, went on an engaging site visit to three textile companies in Prato, heard informative presentations by transfer partner cities on their local context, and participated in a participatory transfer pillar activity.
Hosted by the wonderful Museo de Tessuto, situated amongst exhibitions on fashion and Prato’s textile industrial heritage, we began by hearing from Work Package leaders.The work presented forms a key component of the transfer of knowledge process, with its diverse activities and comprehensive actions supporting the co-creation of an Innovative Solution Model. This model is foundational to the effectiveness of the transfer of knowledge to partner cities as well as the EPIC project in general. We are excited to keep up with our Prato partners progress!
Outside of workshops, we had the privilege of visiting three textile companies in Prato. All the companies are leaders in the textile industry and represent distinct stages of the circular economy of textiles in Prato. Beginning with Comistra, we toured their textile recycling plant that marries novel sustainable recycling practices with a 105 year old heritage and knowledge base. We heard presentations from third- and fourth-generation owners about Comistra’s processes of recycling fabrics and creating high quality and sustainable yarns. We then toured Nova Fides, a textile production business which uses sustainable yarns and materials to produce high-quality fabrics which are sold all throughout Europe. Stage two of the circular economy. Next, we visited Rifo’s headquarters. Rifo is a clothing company where sustainability is woven into the fabrics of their clothes and production processes; only recycled fabrics are used and their entire supply chain is within 30 km from their production facilities. The final stage of Prato’s textile circular economy.
Day two began with presentations from transfer partner cities of Bilbao, Plzeňen, and Miskolc. Each city outlined its industrial heritage, current state of industry, and current tourism offerings and data — important baselines of our collaboration. After the presentations, we engaged in interactive and collaborative sessions led by UIA experts, exchanging strategies and ideas.
We look forward to continuing to collaborate and monitor how EPIC’s activities are progressing. We thoroughly enjoyed the Opening Site Visit and are excited for a partner site visit to Bilbao in June 2026. This site visit will allow us to share our experiences from the past eight months and explore the local context in Bilbao.
EPIC – Experience Prato Industrial Culture – is an innovative project co-funded by the European Urban Initiative, aiming to transform Prato’s unique industrial heritage into a driver of sustainable tourism, cultural innovation, and local development. By combining immersive technologies, co-designed tourism products, and inclusive governance, EPIC seeks to create a new way of experiencing the city—one that connects tradition with innovation, strengthens community involvement, and positions Prato as a reference point for smart and sustainable cultural tourism in Europe.