The Touring Club Italiano (TCI) (Italian Touring Club or Touring Club of Italy) is the major Italian national tourist organization.
History
The Touring Club Ciclistico Italiano (TCCI) was founded on 8 November 1894 by a group of bicyclists to promote the values of cycling and travel. Among the founding members was , who became president in 1919; at his death in 1926, he was succeeded by
Giovanni Bognetti. It published its first maps in 1897. By 1899, it had 16,000 members. With the new century, it promoted tourism in all its forms—including auto tourism—and the appreciation of the natural and urban environments. Under
fascism
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
, starting in 1937, it was forced to Italianize its name to the Consociazione Turistica Italiana.
Through the years, it has produced a wide variety of maps, guidebooks, and more specialized studies, and is known for its high standard of
cartography
Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...
. Its detailed road maps of Italy are published at 1:200,000, one per
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
.
Publishing activity
Its most prestigious guidebooks are the "Guide Rosse" (not to be confused with the
Michelin
Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
Red Guides), which cover Italy in 23 highly detailed volumes printed on
bible paper; the TCI also produces a wide variety of other guides to Italy. During the Fascist period, the red guides were also extended to cover Italian colonies and overseas territories.
Among many other publications the Touring Club Italiano, along with
Club Alpino Italiano, published between 1908 and 2013 the ''
Guida dei Monti d'Italia Guida is a given name and surname. Of Italian origin, it is the patronymic or plural form of Guido. It can also mean "guide" in longer names such as Cacciaguida.
People with the surname
* Robert "Bob" J. Giuda (born 1952), American politician f ...
'' (English: ''Guidebook to the Italian mountains''), a series of guidebooks covering all the mountain ranges of Italy.
The TCI also publishes translations of foreign guidebooks such as the French
Guide Bleu.
See also
*
Atlante Internazionale del Touring Club Italiano – an international atlas published by the TCI
References
Further reading
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* ''Guida Gastronomica d'Italia'', 1931
External links
Official site
Tourism agencies
Tourism in Italy
1894 establishments in Italy
Travel guide books
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