The project "Matematici a Bologna: Nuovi itinerari per il turismo matematico" is a Public Engagement project by the Department of Mathematics of the University of Bologna. The project proposes the creation of mathematically themed tours of the city of Bologna designed by students and teachers of the Department and aimed at the general public.
The project is funded by the University of Bologna call " Bando Terza Missione 2023" DR n. 71588 del 16/03/2023.
A project of this kind maybe of interest for many subjects: it will certainly interest mathematics teachers in schools of all grades who, by using the tours that are created, can present mathematics, history and art in an unprecedented way. The range of potential interlocutors is, however, much broader: tourists, students (including university students, in mathematics degrees and more), tourist guides, curious people who are passionate about mathematics or who want to reconcile their relationship with this subject, citizens who want to look at monuments that they have seen many times with new lenses and/or discover unusual - but no less rewarding - routes.
The creation of itineraries for mathematical tourism is not a Bolognese prerogative. In Italy the first experiences are probably those linked to the Matematita Centre, for the city of Milan. Other routes have been designed for cities in the regions of Basilicata, Puglia, Tuscany and Trentino-Alto Adige. We find references to possible paths for a mathematical visit to the city of Bologna in "Viaggiare con i numeri" (Travelling with numbers) by Silvia Benvenuti, associate professor of the Department of Mathematics of Bologna. However, a limitation of the experiences designed so far is the need to purchase books and/or the presence of a tour-guide in order to realize the visit. This limits mathematical tourism, often making it accessible only to the most passionate ones. To avoid this, in our project we use the free application for mobile devices MathCityMap which allows the creation of interactive paths by identifying points of interst on a map.