Travelling around Italy, from Bari to Milan, via Matera, Naples, Perugia and Rome and all of this with an exceptional tour guide who also happens to be the most famous doll in the world. What are we talking about? Today we're finding out all about 'Barbie in Town', a project born on Instagram in 2017 which explores a different way to discover cities. idealista/news talked about the project with its creators, Gabriele Del Buono and Pietro Milella.
What is 'Barbie in Town'?
"'Barbie in Town' is a tourism project that wants to tell the story of cities in a different way. Starting with the unusual subject, Barbie, in the role of tourist and narrator, we get to explore the cities of our choice, from history to culture to modern town planning. We get a 360° look at the past and the present, and get the chance to show Italy through views less known to most people".
How did the idea for this project come about and why?
"The project was born by chance, from an Instagram page that (Gabriele Del Buono and Pietro Milella) run, which was created in 2017. Initially we portrayed Barbie with our city, Bari, as the background. Then, when the first feedback arrived, we expanded to Puglia during our travels, with irreverent shots to tell the story of the area. And in 2021, we expanded to the rest of Italy: Matera, Naples, various towns in Umbria, Rome and now Milan will also be part of our tourism project".
What exactly does 'Barbie in Town' consist of?
"'Barbie in Town' is a real tourist guide: we tell the story of the places we visit, we explore churches, castles and ancient villages, and then we move on to more modern areas, from clubs to city centres, parks, theatres and murals. On social media each post is accompanied by a descriptive caption, while on the website we create real itineraries for tourists".
What kind of feedback have you received so far?
"The response to 'Barbie in Town' has been unexpectedly explosive, a lot of people are following us, and we have also taken our project to local radio and TV stations in Italy. There is a great desire to discover and rediscover Italy, especially after the pandemic. There are many small municipalities that have believed in us to make themselves known to a wider public".
Is the 'Barbie in Town' project ready to go abroad?
"It all started in Bari and then expanded to the whole of Puglia. Now the journey in the rest of Italy has begun, we started from Matera and then moved on to Naples, Umbria and Rome. In the coming weeks we will also unveil our trip to Milan. We have made our first visit abroad, to Tirana, in Albania, but our desire is to take Barbie further afield to all the European capitals".
