Escaping the escape: a study among tourists' visiting Santa Cecilia in Trastevere

Abstract

A number of tourists visit churches on their holiday without being religious or having any religious motivation. If religion is not important for the visit, what is then central to the tourist experience, and how do tourists describe their church visit? In this article, I examine tourists’ church visits and the meaning it gives. In a setting characterized through tourism and religion, and with a special focus on the individual church experience, the personal perspective is prioritized. The data for this study have been collected at the church of Santa Cecilia in Rome, where I have interviewed 12 tourists. The findings show that the experience of escape is an important part of the church visit. Further the findings demonstrate tourists’ need to find back to themselves, as a contrast to the busier tourist role. While previous studies of visits to religious sites often emphasize religious identity and holiness, this study indicates that religion is unimportant or subordinate to some extent. The findings therefore provide new knowledge about the significance for tourists of visiting churches.