Week 0: Senior Project Introduction

Hello, my name is Zachary Donofrio; I’ve been at Basis Independent Brooklyn since 8th grade. My Senior Project is examining the history of tourism in small Italian towns, specifically on the Amalfi coast. Over the summer, I visited a number of these towns, Atrani, Revelo, Minori, and Scala. While there, I noticed that despite having a decent number of tourists, these areas do not have the same amenities as many larger areas. My project will consist of online research into tourist economies and the Italian economy on a macroeconomic level and in-person research consisting of reading town histories in local libraries and interviews of town mayors regarding their policies toward either encouraging or limiting tourism. I am planning to work on-site with engineer Giseppi Mormeli at Palazzo Prisinzano. My final deliverable will be two separate research papers: one on tourism history in the towns and one on an analysis of productive tourism-based governmental decisions. As an Italian-American whose family heritage can be traced back to a small town in Italy, Onofrio, having accessible information about the history and stories of less-represented towns is something I would like to make more widespread. If you are interested in hearing more about my project, my senior project proposal will be linked here.