We the Italians ambassador Charles Marsala of New Orleans recently visited Italy to explore his ancestors’ roots. The trip was motivated by the “Roots Tourism” program of The Italian Foreign Ministry. The trip was arranged by Luca Piras of TribYou - Your Places.
Marsala, who also owns Menlo Hub in Silicon Valley, met Piras in San Francisco, when TribYou was a member of a cohort group in the two-week Innovit Program for growing companies. Marsala is helping TribYou expand into the US market.
TribYou’s mission is to take travelers and companies to the authentic places of Italy. Their network has 78 villages, 65 packages, and 45 verified hosts and is expanding. The team provides the ultimate experience via “Experiental Travel” when visiting an ancestor’s village or other Italian destination.
Experiential travel is a form of tourism where travelers actively and meaningfully engage with a destination's local culture, history, food, people, and environment rather than just passively sightseeing.
The Siena experience was designed and led by author Barbara Latini of Siena Experience Italian Hub and included insider tours, activities, and meetings with the top artists in Siena plus a private meeting with the leadership of The Contrada Priora della Civetta (Owl Contrada). They are one of the 17 historic Contrades of Siena that compete in the famous Palio horse race.
Latini is the co-author of 202-page book on the Siena Cathedral titled: “Between Heaven and Earth.” She arranged for Marsala to meet Italian painter Alessandro Grazi who created a famous Drappellone (the painted silk banner awarded to the winning neighborhood) for the Palio di Siena at her gallery, which overlooks the Siena Plaza.
Marsala produces the TV-show “Celebrating Culture” for public broadcasting and will use his Siena experience to enhance the documentary AWE News created on the 2023 Krewe of Rex parade in New Orleans Mardi Gras which featured the Palio of Siena as its theme.
