Tell us about the mission of the European Federation of Napoleonic Cities (FECN) and how it relates to the Council of Europe’s objectives for European Cultural Routes.
The Fédération Européenne des Cités Napoléoniennes was created in 2004 by Charles Bonaparte. Since the very beginning, its mission is to federate European cities, cultural institutions, and European citizens through this dissonant page of our shared history, discovering how this past has been common to all of us and how it contributed to define the foundations of the present day Europe. To quote our Founder and Honorary President, Charles Bonaparte, the Napoleonic period allowed Europe to become aware of itself, by its adhesion as by its opposition to the action of Napoleon, and the adoption of public institutions inspired by the philosophy of the Enlightenment.
The main action implemented by the Federation is the Destination Napoleon route, connecting member cities and territories through projects and initiatives. This pan-European initiative has been certified as a Cultural route of the Council of Europe in 2015.
When working with our members, it clearly appears that rediscovering this common past means having a better understanding of our multiple identities.
Enhancing the cultural heritage linked to Napoleon across Europe, dealing with different points of view of each territory, visiting sites, gardens, museums, or battlefields, being open to a multiperspective approach, allow us to understand how important is this page of European history, and how precious the different perceptions are to fully appreciate the complexity of Napoleon and his time. Destination Napoleon aims to let inhabitants and visitors discover lesser known stories and events that are not written in history books we study at school, but that are often transmitted from one generation to the next as they are rooted in the territories.
As stated by Michel H.A. Patin, Europe is a bouquet of cultures and a vast library of knowledge: this multiperspective and living approach is at the core of the Council of Europe’ work, not only for what concerns the Cultural Routes programme. It is a crosscutting theme that engages people working following and defending the values promoted by the Council of Europe, from the national to the local level: being a certified Cultural route, we are strongly committed to highlight the richness of our territories, to practise intercultural dialogue through bottom up projects, and to underline how each member contributes to this incredible European mosaic, from Paris to Boleslawiec, from Plymouth to Ajaccio, from Torres Vedras and Elba Island, arriving to Aranjuez and Ierapetra, crossing Belgium, Germany, Croatia, and Montenegro.
We can walk among roses and exotic plants brought to Europe after the scientific campaigns in Australia or Egypt when strolling through the gardens of the villas, or appreciate the architectures, furniture and paintings commissioned at that time when visiting the interior of the palaces of power.
How would you describe the importance of the Napoleonic legacy in the construction of a common European identity?
Napoleon is a significant figure in French history, and had a pivotal role in the European one. His influence and impact on the different European countries is incredible, and is still tangible today, in our European daily life: from the Code Civil, influenced by the principles of the French Revolution, such as Freedom, Equality, and Fraternity, to the urbanism of European cities and the management of agricultural landscapes and gardens.
The FECN takes into account the history of the Napoleonic era and the need to respond to the diverse expectations, practices and contexts of each country and within each territory to develop the plural and European narrative of the itinerary. It’s not enough to follow in the footsteps of the great campaigns or to place commemorative markers on the battlefields: we work with our members to take stock of what the legacy of the Napoleonic period has left for each nation and for the construction of nowadays Europe. Destination Napoleon aims to give substance to the various aspects of a myth that is still strongly present in the hearts of the peoples of Europe and, in some respects, the world, and whose legacy is not always consensual.
The work carried out at national level and by macro-regions (Spain and Portugal, France, Croatia, Germany, etc.) enables us to support territories in a participative, bottom-up approach, aimed at networking heritage and the multi-perspective European historical narrative that Destination Napoleon route aims to convey.
An important role is played by our Scientific Committee, an international and multidisciplinary Committee chaired by professor Jacques-Olivier Boudon and composed by historians, such as Professors Luigi Mascilli-Migliorini and Josko Belamaric supported by the scientific committee, cultural heritage policies experts, like Professor Maria Gravari Barbas, tourism geographers and economists, as Professor Alessia Mariotti and Professor Patrizia Battilani.
By exploring Napoleon’s actions, the route encourages intercultural dialogue and understanding of different perspectives.
Tell us about the mission of the European Federation of Napoleonic Cities (FECN) and how it relates to the Council of Europe’s objectives for European Cultural Routes.
The Fédération Européenne des Cités Napoléoniennes was created in 2004 by Charles Bonaparte. Since the very beginning, its mission is to federate European cities, cultural institutions, and European citizens through this dissonant page of our shared history, discovering how this past has been common to all of us and how it contributed to define the foundations of the present day Europe. To quote our Founder and Honorary President, Charles Bonaparte, the Napoleonic period allowed Europe to become aware of itself, by its adhesion as by its opposition to the action of Napoleon, and the adoption of public institutions inspired by the philosophy of the Enlightenment.
The main action implemented by the Federation is the Destination Napoleon route, connecting member cities and territories through projects and initiatives. This pan-European initiative has been certified as a Cultural route of the Council of Europe in 2015.
When working with our members, it clearly appears that rediscovering this common past means having a better understanding of our multiple identities.
Enhancing the cultural heritage linked to Napoleon across Europe, dealing with different points of view of each territory, visiting sites, gardens, museums, or battlefields, being open to a multiperspective approach, allow us to understand how important is this page of European history, and how precious the different perceptions are to fully appreciate the complexity of Napoleon and his time. Destination Napoleon aims to let inhabitants and visitors discover lesser known stories and events that are not written in history books we study at school, but that are often transmitted from one generation to the next as they are rooted in the territories.
As stated by Michel H.A. Patin, Europe is a bouquet of cultures and a vast library of knowledge: this multiperspective and living approach is at the core of the Council of Europe’ work, not only for what concerns the Cultural Routes programme. It is a crosscutting theme that engages people working following and defending the values promoted by the Council of Europe, from the national to the local level: being a certified Cultural route, we are strongly committed to highlight the richness of our territories, to practise intercultural dialogue through bottom up projects, and to underline how each member contributes to this incredible European mosaic, from Paris to Boleslawiec, from Plymouth to Ajaccio, from Torres Vedras and Elba Island, arriving to Aranjuez and Ierapetra, crossing Belgium, Germany, Croatia, and Montenegro.
We can walk among roses and exotic plants brought to Europe after the scientific campaigns in Australia or Egypt when strolling through the gardens of the villas, or appreciate the architectures, furniture and paintings commissioned at that time when visiting the interior of the palaces of power.
How would you describe the importance of the Napoleonic legacy in the construction of a common European identity?
Napoleon is a significant figure in French history, and had a pivotal role in the European one. His influence and impact on the different European countries is incredible, and is still tangible today, in our European daily life: from the Code Civil, influenced by the principles of the French Revolution, such as Freedom, Equality, and Fraternity, to the urbanism of European cities and the management of agricultural landscapes and gardens.
The FECN takes into account the history of the Napoleonic era and the need to respond to the diverse expectations, practices and contexts of each country and within each territory to develop the plural and European narrative of the itinerary. It’s not enough to follow in the footsteps of the great campaigns or to place commemorative markers on the battlefields: we work with our members to take stock of what the legacy of the Napoleonic period has left for each nation and for the construction of nowadays Europe. Destination Napoleon aims to give substance to the various aspects of a myth that is still strongly present in the hearts of the peoples of Europe and, in some respects, the world, and whose legacy is not always consensual.
The work carried out at national level and by macro-regions (Spain and Portugal, France, Croatia, Germany, etc.) enables us to support territories in a participative, bottom-up approach, aimed at networking heritage and the multi-perspective European historical narrative that Destination Napoleon route aims to convey.
An important role is played by our Scientific Committee, an international and multidisciplinary Committee chaired by professor Jacques-Olivier Boudon and composed by historians, such as Professors Luigi Mascilli-Migliorini and Josko Belamaric supported by the scientific committee, cultural heritage policies experts, like Professor Maria Gravari Barbas, tourism geographers and economists, as Professor Alessia Mariotti and Professor Patrizia Battilani.
By exploring Napoleon’s actions, the route encourages intercultural dialogue and understanding of different perspectives.
What strategies have been adopted to make this legacy more attractive to different audiences, particularly younger people or those who are not specialised in history?
Whether one’s passionate about history or not, Napoleon has an enormous evocative power for everyone, regardless of age or cultural background. Each of us has its own image of him: a hero, a tyrant, an innovator For sure, Napoleon is one of the rare historical figures that hardly leaves indifferent.
His actions were so radical, profound and in many respects innovative that there are several aspects of his work that can be explored and uncovered, many of them unexpected, in particular for those people who are not specialists.
The re-enactments of battles and key moments of Napoleonic history attract every year thousands of people from all over the world, to relive and witness epic moments that marked the history of France and of the entire continent. Re-enactments have a strong pedagogical purpose. In addition to the spectacular aspect, re-enactments have a strong pedagogical component and help to be immersed and engaged in this historical epoch.
In order to let inhabitants and visitors discover lesser-known legacies of Napoleon and his time, the European Federation of Napoleonic Cities proposes every year a topic to its members to work on: among the themes proposed in the past few years, our cities and territories worked with us on the impact of Napoleon on European urbanism, botany and gardens, landscapes.
Across Europe, traveling following Destination Napoleon, visitors can experience costumed visits, involving even the youngest: they can become Napoleon for one day, dressing in his clothes and wearing the bicorn, learning fencing and dances of that time.
What has it been like to lead a network of 60 cities in 13 European countries, coordinating strategies to structure coherent and sustainable tourism products around the Napoleonic legacy?
I have to say that managing and coordinating such a network reminds me of the work of an orchestra conductor: in order to achieve a good result it is fundamental to know very well and take into account the sound of each one, to engage with all musicians, to balance and combine the work of everyone to have the best symphony.
My work, together with my colleagues, is really similar: this includes coordinating strategies for historical interpretation, promoting cultural exchanges, and developing sustainable tourism pilots that respect heritage. The main aim is to offer inhabitants and visitors a rich and meaningful journey through Napoleonic legacy, while also ensuring the long-term preservation of the sites and their stories.
It requires balancing the individual identities of the cities with the overarching narrative proposed by Destination Napoleon and supported by our Scientific Committee.
One of the keys is the dialogue and connection with the members, having in mind that each of them is unique and essential for the understanding of the route, and by consequence for appreciating European rich history and identity.
Could you share inspiring examples of successful collaborations between members of the federation?
Synergies among members are increasing year after year, and they also are the consequence of the exchanges taking place annually in the formal frame of the Annual General Meetings and informally during the year. Those relations have as a result interesting initiatives impacting at local, national and European levels. Cooperation can cover different fields, from culture to tourism, from music to education, to re-enactments.
In the last few years we’ve had the chance to further work with the French Ministry of Culture, and that allowed us to reinforce the French branch of the network and to implement visibility activities at the national level. A video promoting the French Destination Napoleon France was co-created and a guidebook presenting the French members, local itineraries and the European perspective of the Route was prepared, in close collaboration between members and the FECN- Destination Napoleon team.
In 2024, the cooperation between the Conservatorio di Milano (Italy), in particular the archives, the Centro di Documentazione delle Residenze Reali Lombarde (Italy) and the Conservatoire du Grand Autunois-Morvan (France), with the participation of an Italian conductor, generated the Hidden Gems project, leading to the rediscovery of music commissioned for the Napoleonic court and forgotten for about two centuries. This cooperation allowed young musicians along with their professors to participate in a transnational project for the very first time in their life, having the chance to play unreleased music and to work with a foreign conductor during almost two weeks, to prepare the concert.
By working together on common projects and initiatives, members can identify and reinforce shared goals and values, further strengthening their sense of unity and belonging to the same network.
How do the events organised by the federation contribute to local dynamism and to the strengthening of the identity of the partner territories?
Stimulating local dynamics and rediscovering local history, never forgetting the European perspective, are at the core of the action of the Federation. The contribution we can provide to territories in this sense becomes an evidence whenever we co-organise events with our members, from the Annual General Meeting to the ceremony of adhesion to the Federation, to conferences and thematic meetings.
On such occasions, one of the main requests we make to our members is to propose walking tours, visits, or special activities dedicated to Napoleonic heritage and history, in connection with the other cultural highlights, traditions and products of their territory.
Federation events, such as conferences, festivals, or cultural exchanges, provide a platform for each member to showcase its unique cultural heritage, traditions, and local products, and bring together representatives and citizens from different partner territories. This allows for the enhancement of local identities while also highlighting the richness and diversity of the network.
Those initiatives can stimulate local economies by attracting visitors, promoting local businesses, and creating opportunities for local economic development within the member territories. Those interactions foster cooperation on shared challenges and opportunities, leading to a stronger sense of collective identity.
Those are precious occasions to work with schools, local producers, reinforcing the engagement of local communities.
Simple activities often generate curiosity and stimulate people to explore and better know this part of our common history and its impacts on their respective city and region.
What role does the Federation play in training and qualifying cultural and tourism agents in the member territories?
The FECN - Destination Napoleon works in priority with its members, which are public authorities, and not directly with tourism operators.
Our main task as Federation is to provide visibility and highlight the importance of engaging with sustainable and responsible tourism principles in the territories involved as a tool to discover Napoleonic heritage.
During our Annual General Meetings, sustainable tourism and tourism products design are at the core since the past three years, and special sessions and workshops are dedicated to explore those topics.
We mainly work with Municipalities and with their tourism offices, exchanging with them about the present challenges in both cultural and tourism fields, and how Destination Napoleon can facilitate exchange of experiences across borders, opening to shared solutions. In this sense, the federation activates a real peer-to-peer exchange among its members, at the European scale, inviting members to reflect on how to create a range of experiences based on Napoleonic legacy, from guided tours to exhibitions and cultural events, that appeal to various interests and audiences, and on how to ensure a transnational marketing for the different sites to attract visitors and promote the cultural significance of the Napoleonic legacy.
Nevertheless, the question of formal training for local stakeholders is key, and the engagement there is different from member to member: it will certainly be a challenge for the years to come.
What mechanisms does the federation provide to facilitate member cities’ access to European funding opportunities for cultural and tourism projects, such as joint applications or transnational partnerships under programmes such as Creative Europe, Interreg or Erasmus+?
The Federation acts as a platform and as a catalyst for members to participate in calls for projects at the European and national level.
The advantage of being part of the FECN - Destination Napoleon is that each member can count on a European engaged network, covering a huge geography, with a clear strategy, that can ensure sustainability to the projects funded. Moreover, the certification as Cultural Route of the Council of Europe opens to cooperation with the broader network composed by all the European Cultural Routes, some of them very famous, like Santiago de Compostela Ways, or Art Nouveau network: it means that there are plenty of possibility to cooperate also behind our own network on topic consistent with our values and core actions.
Our philosophy is to find the right European programme to fund our straegies and our main goal is to support members to directly benefit from the European funding. Our role is to provide expertise in writing the proposals and in the implementation phases of the projects.
This has been the case for a number of proposals we submitted, along with other Routes, in the recent past.
We are proud that one of the Municipalities that integrate the Lines of Torres Vedras, Vila Franca de Xira, is a partner in MEDRoutes, a funded INTERREG project presented along with three other certified Routes: the European Ceramics cities, the Phoenicians Route and the Olive Tree route and involving partners from Italy, Greece, Croatia and, of course, Portugal.
Those projects allow members to experience intercultural dialogue, to think “out of the box” by comparing and exchanging practices with other territories, and to improve the daily work done at the local level on the Route, reinforcing the network.
How important is the Destination Napoleon European Cultural Itinerary for the cohesion and international projection of the network?
The recognition as a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe, we celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, is a recognition of both quality and value and allows us to follow a strong methodology in our daily work, thus ensuring the sustainability of our network and consequently of our common action. Moreover, being certified also means that we are committed with the Council of Europe to stick to the certification criteria, that indicate us the direction of the work we implement thanks to the commitment of our members: research and development in a broad perspective are at the core, and are the backbone of the initiatives proposed by our members, that need to propose a European dimension, combining multiple points of view.
In this sense, the Federation acts creating bridges and facilitating exchanges between the territories part of the Route, that reverberate increasingly in the initiatives proposed on the ground.
Being a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe implies having a common logo: sites, museums, battlefields, and gardens across 12 Countries can be identified thanks to the Destination Napoleon visual identity, the blue silhouette of Napoleon on horseback, and this can increase the visibility and the sense of belonging to the same network, that means sharing principles, values, strategies, and vision.
The Federation - Destination Napoleon highlights all members and their respective historical role in the Napoleonic epic, considering each territory a piece of a global mosaic. All members propose local itineraries, connecting symbolic places where Napoleonic history can be rediscovered and learned. Those routes are presented on the Destination Napoleon visibility tools, in particular on the website interactive map, guiding visitors to discover the cultural heritage and tourism proposals available and proposed by the different destinations across Europe.
The Destination Napoleon Cultural Route represents the common script every territory is a part of, thus ensuring consistency to the whole network and to each member as a part of it.
What are the main challenges and opportunities currently facing the route in the European and global context?
In a historic moment of globalisation and uniformisation of traditions, thoughts and ways of life, working in a network, at the European scale, underlining the importance of multiperspective, is our way to contribute to change this global approach.
Destination Napoleon federates cities and territories very different from each other, in terms of size, notoriety and priorities: from Ajaccio to Mali Lošinj, from Paris to Herceg Novi, from Ierapetra to Lucca, to Plymouth or Bolesławiec, to Braine-l’Alleud and the Waterloo Memorial, we connect major cultural tourism places dealing with overtourism, and destinations off the beaten track.
A careful management strategy is necessary to ensure that tourism is sustainable, benefiting local communities without compromising the integrity of the heritage.
Implementing carrying capacity limits, promoting responsible tourism practices, and developing alternative routes or destinations are crucial.
Accessibility to heritage and culture are also sensitive challenges today, and in this sense we work with our members reflecting on how to ensure that our local itineraries are accessible to all, regardless of physical ability, socioeconomic background, or geographic location: it is a key challenge and this includes providing accessible information, transportation, and accommodation.
We are persuaded that the network effect is beneficial for all members, as it activates sometimes unexpected synergies between territories on specific topics, like sustainability, overtourism, deseasonalisation, and in this sense Destination Napoleon plays the role of connecting sites and regions often far from each other, but facing the same challenges.
The Historical Route of the Lines of Torres Vedras is currently vice-president of the federation. What contribution do you think this Portuguese network can make to the work of the European Federation of Napoleonic Cities?
We are very glad that Ana Umbelino accepted to be our Executive Vice-President, representing the Lines of Torres Vedras network.
The Route of the Lines of Torres Vedras is a very virtuous example: the approach to underline how a dissonant history can become the backbone on which to build cooperation at the local level, rediscovering local heritage and traditions, creating opportunities for lesser-known destinations, engaging with local communities in this process.
The activities created with schools and pupils in producing board games and books is often shared with the other members of the network as a good practice that could be replicated also in other territories and countries.
The Portuguese network interprets at the local scale the principles expressed by the Federation at the European scale: it is a perfect example of how bottom-up can influence policies, reaching from the local to the regional and national level, and becoming also an important project for the national cultural and tourism decision-makers.
The work done in Portugal by the cities part of the network is inspiring for all the members of the Federation and we really hope that it can encourage other members across Europe to further develop activities in different fields.
How do you evaluate the role of the Historical Route of the Lines of Torres Vedras in preserving and interpreting the legacy of the Napoleonic Invasions, in articulation with the Destination Napoleon itinerary and other member cities of the Federation?
The valuable experience of the Route of the Lines of Torres Vedras is a great example of how to put in practice the principles of multiperspectivity, and how working in a network generates positive impacts and can provide visibility to every single member of the network.
The interpretation centres disseminated along the route, the tools and activities proposed and underway provide access and understanding of this complex historical period, allowing it to be connected to the events that took place in the rest of Europe at that time.
One of the strengths is the ability to mix heritage interpretation and conservation with contemporary art and creativity, using innovative tools to make heritage accessible and enjoyable for different audiences.
It is like completing a jigsaw, better knowing this part of Portuguese history that is not so well known by other Europeans.
The opportunity of organising the 2025 edition of the Training Academy for Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe along the Lines of Torres Vedras has been possible thanks to the sharing of values, principles and vision between the network and the Federation.
By the way, it has been a great opportunity for the other Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe managers to experience the work done by the Lines of Torres network to interpret the French Invasion's impacts on the region and beyond.
How do you imagine the future of the Federation over the next 10 years? What new areas of work or geographies could be integrated?
The main challenge for the Federation is to maintain the dynamic among its members and also to expand geographically, in order to complete as much as we can the European vision our Route is engaged with.
With the support of the Scientific Committee members and the Ministries of Culture and Tourism of the countries involved and interested in joining, we are working on multiple layers.
On one hand, we are mapping potential members, on the other hand we are starting work on thematic itineraries dedicated to the figures who played an important role in Napoleon’s life and era, like Joséphine, Élise Bonaparte, Marie-Louise, Nelson, Wellington, and many others.
Among the members we would like to involve in the forthcoming years, there are symbolic sites like Trafalgar, in Spain, or Bard, Marengo and Lodi in Italy, or Slavkov u Brna, the town in the Czech Republic where the historical Battle of Austerlitz took place, and Saint Helena island.
We are also looking forward to completing the Route Marmont, which starts in Ljubljana and arrives in Herceg Novi (Montenegro), after crossing the beautiful rural landscapes of Croatia.
Apart from thematic or geographic extensions, a key element for the itinerary's sustainability over time is for local communities to take more and more ownership of the theme and become aware of its importance, both in defining local and individual identity, and for the opportunity offered by Destination Napoleon to position their territory within a broader European discourse.
The sum of many territories gives weight and strength to the network, opening up opportunities in many different areas.
The dream is that the inhabitants of each member territory of the Federation will be our first ambassadors, and that they will be curious to travel across Europe to discover each other.
How can the network contribute to responding to major contemporary challenges such as sustainability, inclusion or heritage education?
The Federation can act as a powerful tool for addressing major challenges and this mainly by fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing, and collective action among our members and local key stakeholders – for instance, cultural institutions, tourism offices, and schools.
As with the other Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, Destination Napoleon, while promoting cultural exchange and sustainable development, faces several challenges, including maintaining the delicate balance between tourism and heritage preservation, in particular in the main tourism destinations, but also in the smaller sites, with a lower carrying capacity.
Municipalities, cultural institutions and tourism board members of our network are working on similar issues and face similar challenges, even if sometimes they are not aware of it.
Our role is to facilitate the exchange and transfer of practices, innovative ideas and projects – in particular on these topics. It happens in the frame of our European meetings, and in practice through the implementation of common projects, as in the case of MEDRoutes.
Reinforcing cooperation with universities and research centres also represents an opportunity to engage with academics and work together on methodologies that can be used and transferred by our territories.