A passion, an association, a website: the story of Tino and Irpinia Trekking
Published by Incomedia in Success stories · Thursday 17 Mar 2022
You may not know it, but the first to talk about trekking were the Dutch. In the 19th century, after having suffered defeat at the hands of the British in South Africa, they had to cross inhospitable lands in order to evacuate the country.
"Hello everyone! I have a degree in accounting and work for a well-known insurance company.
Today trekking, or hiking, is synonymous with nature walks: a new way to regain a slow pace and keep fit, as well as to visit new places, rediscovering your love for nature and the slowness of the path.
Vincenzo Tino knows this very well. He is a nature lover, a member of the Irpinia Trekking Association and the creator of its official website https://www.irpiniatrekking.it.
Let's get to know him a little better!
Hi Vincenzo, how about introducing yourself briefly?
"Hello everyone! I have a degree in accounting and work for a well-known insurance company. I live in a beautiful land: "green Irpinia", located in the central-eastern part of Campania, which more or less corresponds to the province of Avellino.
It is an irregular territory, carved by valleys and punctuated by reliefs with numerous rivers and streams meandering through them. It's a paradise for those who, like me, love hiking, nature walks, trekking and cycling in their free time."
Your passion for hiking is so strong that it led you to join an association...
"That's right. Since 2017, I have been part of Irpinia Trekking (FIE division of Avellino), an association that accompanies visitors in the mountains, with trekking, mountain biking, horseback riding, caving, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and hiking, all in complete safety, to discover new landscapes and natural beauty. It offers a variety of itineraries and routes, with particular attention to the area of the Partenio Regional Park."
You don't limit yourself to walking along the trodden paths, however: you have also made a "path" on the web.
"Yes, it's true. When I joined the Association, I offered to create and publish the website, free of charge. So, with the approval of President Tonino Maffei, I got to work and, in the end, the website https://www.irpiniatrekking.it went online to everyone's great satisfaction."
Was this your first website?
"No, I had known about WebSite X5 for a few years and had already used it to develop other projects as well. If I remember correctly, I discovered it in 2014 thanks to reviews I read in PC/IT magazines. After trying it, I bought the license and always kept it updated, which I consider fundamental given all the improvements introduced over time."
How did you go about creating the IrpiniaTrekking.it website? Are you the kind of person who studies theory first or the kind that immediately throws themselves into the practical aspects?
"I have to confess that I didn't use the manual but some free webinars I attended were very helpful. In general, I prefer practice to theory but, in my defense, I must say that WebSite X5 is so simple to understand and use that you can achieve excellent results that way too.
I decided to start from one of the templates offered in the Marketplace: it seemed to have been designed with us in mind! Once the project was downloaded, I entered our content, made some necessary customizations and I was practically ready to go online already."
What prompted you to create a website and not just settle for a social media profile for your association?
"I am convinced that a website is still essential for building a stable, lasting and professional presence on the web. All the different social networks are certainly widely consulted and can be successful for targeted campaigns, but they don't allow you to have full control over everything at all times, and the content is often replaced very quickly. It is much more difficult for users to be able to have a complete overview of a complex reality such as an association through social media alone, without the support of an official website."
In the end, do you think you would recommend WebSite X5?
"Yes, absolutely! I would recommend the program for its ease of use, for its content, and also for the technical support, which proved to be efficient and prompt. I remember having a hitch in the project export phase: they took me through it step by step, solving everything quickly.
There is still one, almost necessary, final question: what is your next destination?
"Are we talking about hikes or the web? In terms of excursions, the Association has a very rich program. As for the web, however, I am working on a personal project I will soon publish as www.outdoorexplorer.it.