The first meeting in the pilot area of the Appennino Pistoiese in Italy was held on May 15, 2024. The meeting was organized by the partners ANCI and CNR-IBE in collaboration with the associated partner GAL Montagna Appennino. The purpose of the event was to bring together different stakeholders who operate and live in the area, starting a dialogue to foster collaborative and innovative business models for revitalizing the region.
The meeting opened at 4:00 PM with greetings from Luca Marmo, President of the Province of Pistoia and Mayor of San Marcello Piteglio. Following this, Elena Conti (ANCI Toscana) introduced the REVIVE project, emphasizing the importance of implementing European projects like REVIVE for local areas and the benefits they can bring. Valentina Marchi (CNR-IBE) continued the project presentation, detailing the objectives, results, and planned activities of REVIVE.
After the project presentation, there were further presentations on ongoing or planned community projects and experiences in the region. In particular, the following were presented:
- The renewable energy community of San Marcello Piteglio (Daniela Patrucco, Energy4Com)
- The food community (Daniela Pagliai, Azienda Agricola I Taufi)
- The trails and paths community (Giacomo Buonomini, Deputy Mayor of San Marcello Piteglio)
- The forest community and the rural forest district of the Pistoiese mountains (Luca Marmo, Mayor of San Marcello Piteglio).
Following the presentations of the different communities existing or planned, the Director of GAL Montagna Appennino gave a presentation on “Community Regeneration: A Call for Proposals and More.” Before the conclusions by Marina Lauri, President of GAL Montagna Appennino, there was a discussion session for networking, sharing ongoing experiences, and discussing the development of future REVIVE activities. This exchange continued with an aperitif organized at the end of the event as an additional opportunity to strengthen the network.
Approximately 20 people who operate in different capacities within the Appennino Pistoiese attended the event. Representatives of institutions, associations, local businesses and citizens participated in this introductory meeting and community engagement of the REVIVE project. Further meetings will follow, organized with small groups of representatives from different categories to define the path to take and the activities to develop in the pilot area, with the aim of establishing an innovative and collaborative business model to revitalize the Appennino Pistoiese.
Modelli di economia collaborativa per la Montagna Pistoiese
