From filmic heritage to long-lasting induced tourism: the singular italian case of the once unknown and anonymous Brescello

Abstract: That film can induce viewers to visit a specific destination or to take into consideration a certain type of tourism (cultural, entertaining, or sportive, etc.) instead of another, is something that is widely agreed upon. However, there is still some doubt on how to consider this phenomenon: whether the effects produced by a film are limited due to the very short-term life of a film, or whether they can be made to last for a longer period, or even for an indefinite time. This article analyzes a singular Italian case that can illustrate some ways of how films can be exploited as a push factor by tourism bodies to promote tourism to an identifiable destination. It regards the long-lasting effects of a series of five old films of the 1950s that still produce a considerable effect on tourism in brescello, a small and anonymous town on the Po River, in the north of Italy. It would never become a touristic destination had it not been for the fact that it was the location of those films.