TEHIC-Handbook_of_best_practices

121 7.1.2. Istria Inspirit Brief description Istria Inspirit is a public established body, with the mission to serve local communities and a clear understanding that public-private partnership is probably the best way to reach the highest quality levels of tourism and heritage (included heritage interpretation), and to benefit, directly and indirectly, local communities, as they are the real owners of heritage. Istria Inspirit creates diverse experiences in storytelling and a living history by which guests and visitors of different sites within the Istrian peninsula can understand better the local context, and their stays at destination are far more enriched and remain unfor - gettable. The essential ‘modus operandi’ of Istria Inspirit is based on a simple rationale: each destination (even the smallest one) has its own specific history, traditions, myths, and legends that can be performed and presented to the audience in a creative and inter- esting way. In other words, Istria Inspirit is an ideal partner for converting Istrian legends and stories into today’s understandable realities: like, for example, reviving the story of Mr. Jure Grando, the very first vampire story recorded or the legend of the fairies who built the famous Pula/Arena amphitheatre. Istria Inspirit is doing a transfer toward an innovative cultural and experiential product, as a unique travel through time, customs, and traditions and by interpretation of all senses, of tangible and intangible heritage. Istria Inspirit started in 2012, as an innovative programme and in 2023 it is a main heritage ‘engine’ of related interpretations within the Istrian peninsula. Criteria it meets and justification 1. Time and Sustainability Time path of the project When Istria Inspirit started in 2012 it offered nine different experiences, which have been performed twenty-seven times, mostly during the summer. Within two years the number of performances tripled, thanks to an appealing programme and it keeps growing every year (save for pandemic years). While there are regular performances which have smaller updates, success of Istria Inspirit is in constant research for new inspirations coming from the well of the intangible heritage of the Istrian peninsula: myths, legends and sto - ries which deserve to be re-discovered. A number of partners come from the academia, the culture and private business sector and many other members come from local communities.