Expressions of interest through the mountain Unions by September. Many small realities, the case of the mayor of San Colombano
IVREA
Almost one hundred municipalities in Piedmont and over two hundred in Italy no longer have a bar or shop. The role of proximity trading, in a year and a half as difficult as the one just ended, is clear to everyone and goes beyond the concept of service. The Region has just approved the notice for the collection of expressions of interest for the service shops in mountain municipalities. The mountain Unions will collect them and transmit them to the Region by 30 September. The goal is to create and strengthen what are defined, in fact, Botteghe dei servizi, intended as multifunctional commercial places. Once the expressions of interest that will analyze the needs of the individual territories have been collected, the Region will select the criteria to identify the initiatives to be supported. The meaning, however, is to ensure that the shops become a point of reference for other services as well, from the remote issuance of certificates to ticket offices, from internet points to tourism promotion.
Diego Galletto, 44, is mayor a San Colombano Belmonte. In his village, about 370 inhabitants, there is a bar, a restaurant and a single shop. His. A few days after the first lockdown in 2020, he had in fact inaugurated the Little Shop, the only shop in the town. «Yes – he explains – I started a year and a half ago. It was a historic activity and I decided to reopen it, also focusing on local specialties ». It was a baptism of fire, with the very difficult period of the pandemic. «In fact – he says – it is a point of reference. People meet, we talk ». The issue of services in small municipalities is fundamental, Galletto is in his first term as mayor (elected in 2019 with 93% of the votes) but he has been in administration for over 20 years: “By 2023 the works for fiber should be completed and this it’s important. What would be needed, at this moment, is the reopening of the emergency room of the Cuorgnè hospital ». A point of view, this, far from isolated.
Canischio, About 270 inhabitants, is the neighboring municipality and, for foodstuffs, it refers to San Colombano because it has no shops. There is a restaurant bar that the Agricultural Workers’ Society has given to management. That too is a landmark that keeps the country alive. Riccardo Rosa Cardinal, 31, the mayor, recalls the lack of aggregation points in the period in which the business was closed. He observes: «In recent years, sensitivity towards small municipalities has grown and resources have begun to arrive to support activities and services. Any initiative in this direction is positively welcomed by us ». Rosa Cardinal also notes that the failure to reopen the Cuorgnè emergency room is currently an important gap and that, among the services to be strengthened in small municipalities, there is the internet, all the more so after the experience of the pandemic that has increased the work remotely. Piervanni Trucano, 70, is the mayor of Chiesanuova, 233 inhabitants. “In the village there is a tavern and a grocery store. They are close, in municipal premises. The previous municipal administration, years ago, had worked to ensure that these activities could continue ». And now? What’s missing? “With the pandemic, the medical clinic has disappeared, in a small municipal area. We hope to be able to go back to having a general practitioner to come for the surgery. The primary and kindergarten school is in Colleretto Castelnuovo and there is a bus service. Here we are lucky, there is a good group of people who, voluntarily, work hard to keep the country in order ». TO Cintano, 255 inhabitants, the mayor Daniela Contini, 49 years old, underlines how there is a desire to live small realities. In the village there are a food shop, bar restaurant, farmhouse, guest house and B & b.