Bellezza Italia - Legambiente
Together with Legambiente, we are partners of the project “Bellezza Italia – Protecting the wonders of the country together”: a campaign that aims to value Italian artistic, cultural and environmental heritage.
Contributing to the realisation of this initiative means further pursuing the efforts we have always dedicated to the development of active social and environmental policies across the country and of adequate tools to tackle climate change.
Through this project we intend to propose and implement, alongside Legambiente, actions for the recovery and restoration of degraded areas to return them to the use of citizens and tourists. Project activities provide for the involvement of local communities and the formalisation of partnerships with local public administrations.
The broad and primary objectives of each project are to protect cultural and environmental heritage, to spread a culture of legality and rights and to promote synergies between civil society, companies and institutions involved in compromised or abandoned areas.
To follow past and future projects live, please visit:
PROJECTS UNDERWAY
Spazio Mediterraneo: Cultural Workshops in the Zisa district in Palermo
The cultural workshops in the Zisa district in Palermo, used by the old Ducrot Factories from the beginning of the last century, have for years been the subject of renovation works also involving the Unipol Group. Spazio Franco, for example, is a former woodworking shop that today has been transformed into an area for artistic experimentation thanks to the contribution of the 2018 culturability call for submissions promoted by Fondazione Unipolis. The work proposed by Legambiente / Bellezza Italia with the support of Unipol was launched on 14 February 2019. This project will lead to the creation of a nature information and documentation centre that will be opened to citizens and schools after some of the pavilions have been restored for the purpose of improving their energy efficiency and fighting against climate change. Abandoned areas can thus be transformed into public spaces where to carry out scientific dissemination activities on environmental and sustainability issues.
REALIZED PROJECTS
'The Dune Guardians' Project
Coastal dunes play a strategic role in mitigating the risk of erosion and the effects of climate change. Yet, the dune ecosystem is very vulnerable.
The project “I Guardiani della duna“ was born with the aim of learning about, consolidating and protecting the Maremma coast, and in particular the dune area in Marina di Alberese, also to enhance and support sustainable tourism activities. The area has suffered dramatic erosion phenomena for several years, leading to the disappearance of tens of metres of beach.
Read the complete document and find the gallery.
The Po River Park
The purpose of this project is natural protection and social enhancement by rediscovering places that may be used as outdoor teaching classrooms thereby involving schools in environmental education paths and ecological and hydrobiological research, including the construction of cycling lanes and pedestrian paths, rest areas and spaces for water sports, in particular for rowing, which has also involved people with disabilities, thanks to the collaboration of Polisportiva Gioco Parma. The paths inside the Park, i.e. the historic carriageways that have always been used to access the river floodplain within the municipalities of Roccabianca, Polesine Zibello and Villanova sull’Arda, have been restored. The work proposed in collaboration with Bellezza Italia has included the construction of the first experimental stretch of the Po River Park to drive the citizens’ process of re-appropriation of these areas.
Read the Press Release (Italian version only).
On the tracks of beauty
The Bellezza Italia campaign continues with the renovation of the San Stino di Livenza station in Veneto, which over time has become a forgotten place exposed to degradation and abandonment.
Built in the early twentieth century and once a symbol of modernity and a driving force behind the economic development of the community, the station was become and ideal hub for environmental and scenic tourism. The renovation of the house and warehouse allowed give life to a multipurpose room on the ground floor for meetings, cultural activities and training, as well as a guesthouse and bike garage. On the upper floor, spaces were equipped for tourist reception and accommodation.
Capoprati Park
Approximately 7 thousand square metres found on the Tiber River in Rome (Municipalities XVII and XX) - came to life in 2001 thanks to the clean-up operations carried out by Legambiente volunteers. Works began in 1996 and over four years achieved incredible results with the removal of over 30 tonnes of waste and 50 tonnes of overgrown vegetation. After two floods in 2008 and 2012, Capoprati was suffocated by uncultivated vegetation, while maintenance on the banks of the Tiber had long been neglected. Thanks to Bellezza Italia, the area is now accessible to adults and children for leisure and educational purposes.
E.V.A. Project
Homebuilt Eco Village, was a project born to favour the ecological revival and development of the Portomaggiore area, promoting agriculture, artisan activities and responsible rural tourism. A low cost village with minimum environmental impact was created in compliance with current anti-seismic and building regulations. Green building techniques envisaged the use of wooden load-bearing structures and straw infill, electricity is supplied by solar panels and the village is equipped with a constructed wetland and composters where organic waste is transformed into fertilizer for the vegetable gardens irrigated by rainwater.
Paestum archaeological site
The first project began in 2014, at the Paestum archaeological area with the opening of the path connecting the archaeological site located in Campania to the sea. This stretch, which returns the route used during the landing of the Greek colonies that founded the ancient city of Magna Grecia, Poseidonia to citizens, is now safe and accessible to all.
Thanks to UnipolSai FutureLab, crowdfunding for the renovation of Cap’è Napuli, the Cuneo Bio Park, active citizenship in Pisticci and cleaning of the Sarno estuary was also supported.