The Governing Board of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) awarded the "Cultural Route of the Council of Europe" certification to the European Paganini Route, the Singing Heritage Route and Via Querinissima at its 2026 meeting (5-7 May, Luxembourg), bringing the number of certified Cultural Routes to 52.
European Paganini Route
The European Paganini Route highlights the legacy of Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840), the famous Genovese violinist. This legendary musician performed more than 460 concerts in major capitals and several cities across Europe. Throughout his career, Paganini spread his artistic message throughout Europe and established himself not only as an extraordinary musician and symbol of virtuosity, but also as a pivotal figure in shaping Europe’s musical and cultural identity. He influenced and was influenced by many leading European composers, leaving a lasting mark on the continent’s artistic landscape. The European Paganini Route aims to recognise Paganini's cultural importance and contribute to intercultural dialogue on the basis of music. The network brings together public and private organizations, conservatories, music academies, universities, and municipalities.
Singing Heritage Route
The Singing Heritage Route connects traditional community singing practices in Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. These traditions have historically contributed to the preservation of language, culture, and identity prior to the introduction of written language. The route connects many culturally indispensable singing traditions in the area, such as the “runosong” tradition, the multipart singing tradition “leelo” and “pusbolss”. The Baltic song and dance celebrations are also a common tradition and essential component to the theme of the route. The Singing Heritage Routes aims to support the preservation and transmission of these traditions through sustainable cultural tourism and regional development. It links relevant sites, including museums, archives, libraries, festivals, and traditional settlements, integrating both intangible and tangible heritage. The route has several side themes, such as sauna, war memorials, nature, food as well as other music culture and traditions.
Via Querinissima
Via Querinissima is a cultural route that retraces Pietro Querini and his crew’s historic journey across land and sea. Querini was a Venetian noble merchant who sailed from Candia (today, Heraklion, Crete) to Bruges (Belgium) in 1431. During this journey, Querini and his crew were surprised by storms and pushed to Sandøya, in the Lofoten archipelago in Norway. The survivors were rescued by fishermen from the nearby island of Røst, where they were welcomed and hosted for several months. Two separate reports of that extraordinary adventure have been preserved, and are kept in manuscript copies in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana and the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice. The travel memories of Pietro Querini enabled intercultural connections between the Northern and Southern regions of Europe, thus discovering places, sites and heritage he visited and described with his crew. Via Querinissima aims to highlight the values of hospitality, solidarity, knowledge and encounter narrated by Querini's adventure.
More information on the results of the 2025-2026 certification cycle will be shared soon.
