On October 15^th in Rome FIAB met for the first time the Minister of Infrastructures and Transport, Graziano Delrio, and the Minister of Tourism and Culture, Dario Franceschini. The talk between Mr. Delrio and FIAB's President, Mrs. Giulietta Pagliaccio, took place in a friendly atmosphere with the Minister sharing the need for a change of pace for bicycle mobility in Italy with the implementation  of clear and concrete measures. « We have identified three main strands – explains Mrs. Pagliaccio: daily mobility with a focus on  the needs of big cities, cycle tourism with the development of a national network with priority goals including safe access to cities; intermodality between bicycles and other means of public transport, which would greatly benefit both daily mobility and cycle tourism. The meeting between FIAB and Mr. Delrio took place after the first European Cycling Summit, where the EU Transport Ministers signed the Charter of Luxembourg, acknowledging the benefits of cycling for the environment, the climate and the health of the users, as well as for the economy. Cycling, it was stated, should therefore be recognized by all the Member States as a equal mode of transport. « In Italy too there are new political signs that give reason to hope – says Giulietta again- such as the recent release of 12 million Euros for projects to make bicycle paths safe. Together with Mr. Delrio we anticipated the creation of an inter-ministerial Working Table involving the Ministers of  Transport and Tourism, that will coordinate the themes of cycle mobility and raise awareness among the Regions for sustainable policies, also in view of the Stability Act, which should allocate dedicated  financial resources ». The other meeting took place with the Minister of Tourism, Dario Franceschini. The discussion focused on the economic importance of cycle tourism and in particular on the project for the development of the bicycle itinerary from Verona to Florence, a central part of the Ciclopista del Sole route, which connects the Brenner mountain with Sicily and which in its first part till Verona is already a protected bike lane. The representatives of the regions along the itinerary (Veneto, Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Tuscany), the cities of Mantua, Modena, Bologna, Prato, Pistoia, as well as The Art Circuit of the Po Valley and FIAB created in the presence of Minister Franceschini, a round table for the development of the bike itinerary Verona-Florence from a tourist point of view, with the aim of dealing with the problems and devising strategic working methods, which starts from the already existing itinerary and will involve all the actors along the way. « The Ciclopista del Sole route is for the development of bicycle tourism in Italy what the Autostrada del Sole has been in the past for motorized traffic : a route that connects Italy from the north and the south and which offers along the way interesting opportunities for holiday-makers since it crosses Italian landscapes of rare beauty » – explains Antonio Dalla Venezia, the person at FIAB responsible for cycle tourism and Bicitalia. « Furthermore – he adds – La Ciclopista del Sole is integrated in the network Bicitalia.org the Italian section of EuroVelo 7, which offers 5,000 kilometres to cycle from Cape North to Malta ». Besides Bicitalia.org with 18,000 km cycle routes, out of which 10,000 already mapped, and 18 great itineraries and more than 50 «quality cycle lanes », FIAB is the main promoter in Italy of cycle tourism, thanks to the 140 associations that propose every year more than 4,000 activities (outings, excursions, cycle holidays, cycle tours and other events on the bike) which can be found on the website Andiamoinbici.it. FIAB also offers a online list of certified « bicycle friendly » structures on the website Albergabici.it.