ROME - Egypt's immense cultural and archaeological heritage will star as guest of honor at TourismA 2017, the international exposition on archaeology scheduled at Florence's Palazzo dei Congressi on February 17-19.

The initiative was presented in Rome at a press conference at the embassy of Egypt by the director of the Egyptian tourism agency in Italy, Emad Fathy: ''Egypt's participation as a guest country - commented Fathy - is an important occasion to promote the destination in cooperation with tour operators. Our purpose is to target an important segment of reference in the country, mainly archaeology connaisseurs and travelers who love the ancient world''.

Several initiatives have been scheduled to relaunch Egyptian archaeological sites. One is the recreation of Tutankhamun's funerary chamber with, in a first, the wine that was discovered inside the tomb, when Howard Carter found it in 1922. The wine, called Shedeh, was meant to help the rebirth of the sovereign. A conference on February 17 will also be dedicated to the young sovereign. It will be attended, among others, by well-known Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass who will talk about ''The latest news from the tomb of the child pharaoh''.

Egypt, said Piero Prunetti, director of TourismA ''is a true minefield of archaeological marvels and has given a fundamental contribution to the development of archaeology worldwide. The cooperation between Italy and Egypt in this field has produced excellent results thanks to Italian archaeological missions in Egypt''. The event, which has reached its third edition, dedicated to the communication and promotion of cultural heritage in Europe, will register the participation of 240 speakers at more than 30 congresses, as well as 100 exhibitors from all over the world.

Other guests will come from Algeria, Jordan, Cyprus, Croatia, Turkey and Sicily.

New events this year will include a conference on archaeological tourism and opportunities for operators and destinations by the International center of studies on the economy of tourism.