Abstract
The paper reports about an exploratory case study related to the role of universities in fostering synergies among local actors, for the creation of cultural tourism projects. The main objective of the study is to understand how the 'European Cultural Routes' program can be supported locally by university-business collaboration. To this aim, it is presented the case of the University of Macerata, and the related idea emerged, through multi-stakeholder engagement, to create a wine route project in the area of Le Marche region, where it is located. Conclusions highlight the important role of the universities in supporting the cultural routes initiative and in the whole territorial development