ASSOCIAZIONE CULTURALE CASTELLI ROMANI GREEN TOUR

Their core work

CRGT is an Italian cultural association rooted in the Castelli Romani territory — the volcanic hill region south of Rome known for its parks, lakes, and natural landscapes. Their work centers on promoting green tourism and the therapeutic potential of natural environments, which is what brought them into EU research consortia studying the health effects of green microenvironments. In MSCA-RISE projects they appear to serve as a community and territorial partner: providing access to the local green environment as a research setting, facilitating participant engagement, and connecting scientific teams with the real-world context of nature-based well-being. Their second project suggests they also contribute community-facing support or quality-of-life perspectives in clinical health research settings.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

CRGT's early H2020 participation was tightly aligned with their founding purpose: studying how natural green environments — specifically the Castelli Romani landscape — affect aging, health tourism, and well-being (CHARMED, 2017). Their second and most recent project pivoted noticeably toward clinical medicine, focusing on cancer immunotherapy and postoperative quality of life (CANCER, 2018). This suggests either a deliberate broadening toward applied health outcomes, or that their community-engagement and quality-of-life perspective was seen as transferable to a clinical setting beyond nature therapy.

CRGT appears to be moving from nature-based wellness and tourism toward broader health outcome research, particularly where community wellbeing and quality-of-life perspectives complement clinical or biomedical consortia.

How they like to work

CRGT has participated exclusively as a consortium member — never as a coordinator — across both projects, consistent with the role of a territorial or community partner within larger research teams. With 29 unique partners across 7 countries from just two projects, they join well-networked international MSCA-RISE consortia rather than building a stable bilateral network. This profile suggests they are recruited for what they represent geographically or socially, not for scientific leadership.

CRGT has connected with 29 unique partners across 7 countries through just two projects, indicating they participate in broad, multi-partner MSCA-RISE consortia. There is no evidence of repeated partnerships, suggesting their network is opportunistic rather than anchor-based.

What sets them apart

CRGT occupies an unusual position as one of the few cultural or tourism associations active in biomedical and environmental health research consortia — their value lies not in laboratory capability but in territorial access and community connection. The Castelli Romani region itself (a UNESCO-recognised landscape and popular wellness destination near Rome) is effectively their research asset. For a consortium needing a real-world green environment testbed, local participant recruitment capacity, or a quality-of-life community lens in Italy, CRGT offers something most research institutes cannot replicate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CHARMED
  Directly embodies CRGT's core identity — studying the therapeutic effects of green microenvironments on aging and well-being — making it the most representative project of what this organization brings to a consortium.
• CANCER
  Represents a surprising thematic leap into personalized oncology and immunotherapy, suggesting CRGT's community or quality-of-life perspective is considered valuable even in purely clinical research settings.