Olimpia Matacena Collini 0 Commentaires

We mentioned Olimpia Matacena Collini in the Navicella Sardegna Award’s article, because since 2015, when she passed away, a special prize was added to the others, a plaque named after her as the organizing soul of the event.

Olimpia, as told by her son Alessandro Collini, who brilliantly continues her work, had an immense communicative gift "to be able to make herself heard even by stones" and was a forerunner already in the 80s, in identifying the power of communication, when Advertising was still written in the future.

She taught Alessandro that the basic idea is to communicate Sardinia. That we must not make the mistake that the "Sardinia-brand" sells itself, assuming that everyone knows the sunny Island. Olimpia’s important objective was to be able to also make low-cost Sardinia known, the one reasonably priced, outside the super-luxury canons.

Olimpia devoted her great energy towards the “Team" concept, making Sardinian tour operators understand that with no collaboration the single one goes nowhere, and that the competitor is not the tour operator of your own area but must be pursued in the other Mediterranean locations competitors. 

When the tourist inquiries about the Balearic Islands, Turkey, Greece, Malta, Croatia, he must also find Sardinia among his possible choices, being tourism the country's vital economy.

And by forming a "Team", the purpose of revealing Sardinia is better achieved, an island that owns all the requisites conceived by the new tourism. The new tourist desires to satisfy a plurality of experiences involving him at an emotional, physical, intellectual and spiritual level. He wants to know the territory at 360 degrees, from the area’s attractiveness to food and wine and also from the historical point of view of the territory. Which means not only sea, sun and sand but also wines tasting as well as typical local cuisine products, by integrating everything with the knowledge of the hinterland and of the great Sardinian history and prehistory. These requirements can be only met by aggregation. Olimpia's vision had preceded both the current system synergy of tour operators as well as the Total Leisure Experience, which sums up this very concept.

Gabbiano Azzurro Hotel & Suites, who knew and esteemed Olimpia Matacena Collini, works very hard in this sense, engaging above all with this blog in making the territory of North-East Sardinia known in its marvellous entirety.

Olimpia, the great communicator, helped and was helped by the monthly magazine Bell'Italia, dedicated to the artistic, landscape, tourist and food and wine beauties of Italy. From the very beginning of its publication, Olimpia managed to get a Sardinia Special included once a year every month of June, which has happened punctually since then, the only Italian region to have this privilege. When she passed away in 2015, Bell'Italia dedicated a beautiful farewell article to her, in which they thanked her for the energies dedicated to the magazine, highlighting the tireless work of ambassador of her Sardinia, which she loved perhaps even more than her hometown, Naples.

Outspoken, sincere, direct, competent, she was present in all the national and international meetings concerning tourism, to recommend Sardinia, to make it known, because Olimpia had great acquaintance with the tourism businesses’ world, including food and beverage and crafts, as well she knew the Sardinian cultural and archaeological heritage, promoting its nuraghes. At the Milan Tourism Exchange, she attended debating on Sardinia, encouraging regional councillors and businesspeople, sometimes emphasising the missed opportunities

Sardinians know: they have lost a friend, a travel companion, a professional who knew how to give the right advice. But she left her legacy and a clear trail to follow for those who love Sardinia as she loved it.

“One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.”  Henry Miller

Written by Daniela Toti