Magliano Sabina is collaborating with the American University of Rome to develop new strategies for promoting tourism and enhancing the area.

Magliano Sabina is taking an important step in its tourism development journey through a collaboration with The American University of Rome, an international university based in the capital. The initiative aims to develop new promotional strategies to strengthen the town’s positioning and make it more recognisable to an international audience.

Magliano Sabina between authenticity, hospitality and untapped potential

Perched on the Sabina hills, overlooking the Tiber Valley and close to the border with Umbria, Magliano Sabina preserves a heritage made of history, landscape, local products and food traditions. Its historic centre, culture of hospitality and the quality of its rural setting have long made it a place of considerable interest, though one that has not yet been fully valued within broader tourism circuits.

The goal is to turn this richness into a more structured and recognisable destination offer, capable of attracting visitors not only for a short stop, but for a fuller and more immersive stay.

The project with The American University of Rome

The collaboration stems from direct dialogue between the local administration and a group of students from The American University of Rome, involved in fieldwork focused on the tourism future of Magliano Sabina. Mayor Giulio Falcetta has highlighted the intention to help the town evolve from a place people pass through into a destination where visitors choose to stay longer, with a target average stay of three to four nights and an initial focus on younger travellers and students.

What The American University of Rome’s Real Projects are

The initiative is part of The American University of Rome’s Real Projects programme, an experiential learning pathway in which students work in teams on real projects proposed by real organisations, engaging with concrete challenges and with institutional, local and professional stakeholders. It is a model that connects academic education with practical field experience, encouraging the development of applied skills, strategic analysis and the ability to work on real-world contexts.

In the case of Magliano Sabina, this approach allows students to engage with a very concrete challenge: understanding how a town in the Sabina area can communicate its identity more effectively, reach new audiences and build a more recognisable tourism offer. This is one of the most interesting aspects of the project: the meeting between an international perspective and an authentic local reality, rich in content but still in need of being told through new tools and languages.

Early ideas for tourism development in Magliano Sabina

Among the ideas that have emerged is the enhancement of Ecostello Magliano Sabina, a former monastery now converted into a municipal hostel. One of the concepts under consideration is the creation of more structured short-stay experiences, with the Ecostello as a base and the historic centre as the setting for food and wine itineraries, moments of social interaction and activities connected to the authentic character of the town.

This is a particularly interesting direction also for the wider Sabina area, because it points towards slower, more immersive tourism that is more consistent with the identity of the place: not just a quick visit, but an experience capable of building a real connection with the territory.

An important signal also for the Sabina area

For GeoSabina, this initiative is a meaningful sign. It shows how useful it can be to connect municipalities, universities, expertise, planning capacity and new visions in order to support towns and villages in a path of growth and positioning. When a territory invests in its own storytelling, in the definition of target audiences and in the construction of clearer and more attractive experiences, it does not only enhance itself, but also contributes to strengthening the overall image of the Sabina area.

A concrete example of collaboration between territory and university

The project launched with The American University of Rome goes beyond a single local case. It represents a concrete example of how collaboration between public administration and the academic world can generate ideas, method and opportunities for territorial development. In this sense, the Real Projects programme offers an interesting model for other contexts as well: bringing together education, applied research and the real needs of local territories, transforming learning into a concrete resource for local communities.

Magliano Sabina is therefore moving within a contemporary perspective of local enhancement: not only beauty to be told, but also the capacity to build proposals, experiences and relationships that can make the town more visible, more attractive and more recognisable beyond traditional circuits.

Source: article published by Wanted in Rome on 14 March 2026, dedicated to the collaboration between the Municipality of Magliano Sabina and The American University of Rome.

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