Visitors arrived in the North-East to see whether they can export the secret of Beamish Museum's success to Italy.
The Friends of Casdellazzo hope to establish a a 17th Century Italian villa, just outside Milan, as a museum.
So they are on a fact-finding mission to the award-winning outdoor museum, near Stanley, County Durham, to pick up some tips.
Casdellazzo dates back to 1630, several centuries before the era Beamish is based on, but its outstanding success as a tourist attraction drew the Italians to the region to find out more.
About 350,000 visitors pass through Beamish every year.
Chairman of The Friends of Beamish Museum and founder of the attraction, Frank Atkinson, had previously travelled to Italy to talk about Beamish at the request of the Italian friends group.
He said: "They are hoping to go back and encourage people in that part of the world to do something not dissimilar to Beamish.
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