On Sunday, 20 November, the Touriseum in Meran will be inviting guests to its open day. From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. visitors can immerse themselves in the history of tourism in the region. Admission is free. This is also the last opportunity to see this year’s special exhibition on the occupation of waiters and waitresses, “Sie wünschen? Desidera?” [What would you like?].

Children’s events, pantomime artists, the Schräge Heimat with the Kircher Tanzlmusig: the Touriseum is serving up a wide-ranging programme to mark the Long Night of the Museums from 7.00 p.m. to midnight this year. Admission is free. A half-hourly museum shuttle service will link the Touriseum with other participating museums in the Meran area.

LPA – Following several years of hard work, on Thursday, 2 December 2010 South Tyrol’s database of cultural assets is due to go live on South Tyrol citizen’s network. Since 2008 the Touriseum has been preparing its entire collection for the new portal and the 10,000 objects in its collection will in future be accessible online.

On 22 October and 12 November the Touriseum will be hosting two film evenings in Italian. The films to be shown are the silent movie “Der Kilometerfresser” (22 October) dating from the year 1925 and “Genius Loci” (12 November) by the contemporary media artist and film producer Duccio Canestrini. Canestrini will introduce his film, while Paolo Caneppele from Filmarchiv Austria will talk about the rediscovered and restored classic silent movie.

Last Saturday (18 September) saw the fifth occasion of the Long Night of the Museums. 600 people defied heavy rain to visit the Touriseum at Trauttmansdorff Castle. Many visitors responded to the Touriseum’s request to bring along a menu. The 280 menus will be added to the museum’s collection with the best being awarded a prize.

The question as to how tourism and culture – particularly museums – can cooperate was raised by the Touriseum in Meran and approached not by experts, but by students of tourism training schools and tourism-oriented secondary schools. Yesterday, 9th June, South Tyrolean Minister for Education and Culture Sabina Kasslatter Mur awarded prizes for the best projects.

Scholars from four countries with various research interests met for a conference on waiters in Meran’s Touriseum.

Since last night (27 May), speakers from four countries have been occupied at the Touriseum, the regional museum of tourism at Trauttmansdorff Castle, with the question of the changing form and duties of the waiter. The conference was opened by Vice-President of the Regional Council, Martha Stocker, and Museum Director Paul Rösch.

With 682 menus, the Touriseum at Trauttmansdorff castle is revealing the secrets of the menu. Last Wednesday night, museum director Paul Rösch presented the new exhibition “À la carte!” to over 130 guests invited for the opening.

Friday, October 10 saw over 50 museum employees from all over South Tyrol gather at Trauttmansdorff Castle to discuss the use of modern media by museums. Drawing on the example of the new virtual tour available at www.touriseum.it, the debate highlighted the potential conflict between marketing and cultural communication.