Today, I drove with my parents up the Vallarsa, the'burnt valley', departing from Rovereto and reaching the fraction Piano, driving on the left side of the valley, and then returning back to Rovereto driving on the right side, passing through Speccheri and Riva di Vallarsa.
Lower part of the valley with the Brenta dolomites in the back
Important thoughts
The past, which is often surrounded by an idea of very hard work, sacrifice, the simple life, subsistence economy, is still very present in these mountainous parts of the Comunità. But what are the projections and desires for the future, both from an institutional perspective and from what people think? This could be an interesting topic around which initial meetings and workshops could revolve around.
Again, it's impossible not to note a great fracture between the villages of the main valley and the ones of side valleys, like val di Gresta, Terragnolo and Vallarsa. In fact, there seems to be different areas: the Alta Vallagarina(separated in dx and sx Adige), Rovereto, the zone south of Rovereto until Avio(again separated in two by the river), Mori, the Brentonico Plateau, and then the different side valleys
In the different parts, villages and smaller settlements seem to share similar features in varying ways. What really distinguishes one place from the other is the quantity and kinds of activities that are organised and how much people are active.
The activities and events that take place in side valleys and more remote places need to be planned differently from the more conventional big village parties that happen in the main valley and that attract a lot of people also from other places. In side valleys, events possibly need to be more carefully planned and need to attract a certain kind of public from other places. More'di nicchia' and culturally elaborated(there are no rock festivals here).
So again, the fragmentation of the area, the geographic extension and the specificity of the different areas seem difficult to cope with but something we need to embrace, so that we don't exclude a priori.
There seem to be a few interesting things going on here: the festival"Tra le rocce e il cielo", which happens in late summer and the association"Spazio Elementare", in Valmorbia, one of the first fractions of the valley, a sort of reclaimed co-working space founded by a group of cultural workers. Moreover, there is an ethnographic museum in Riva di Vallarsa. Strangely, nothing in this direction is present in Terragnolo, which is smaller, with less resources and less economy.
All these local groups seem of fundamental importance. We need to build up relations with these realities before planning anything. ...which seems a lot for now. Shall we proceed super slow, trying to know a lot before starting activities? Or go and start planning, knowing just a bit?
Important observations
There seems to be quite a bit cash-agriculture going on apart from the classic and widely diffused orchards, even wine, even modern plantations, despite the'terreni agricoli di pregio' are very limited in this area.
The lower part of the valley has only very small and very rare settlements, and it is part of the comune of Trambileno. The lower valley is super narrow and terraces are very few and in very improbable places, and anyway they seem to be mainly used to make hay
After a while, the valley opens up and flanks of the mountains become less steep, and it is here where most and consistent settlements appear
The fact that the valley starts hosting settlements only after quite a few kilometres, gives the impression that it is more isolated than Terragnolo, which is just 15 minutes away from Rovereto
Villages seem to be generally larger than those in Terragnolo as the flanks of the mountains are generally less steep than there
We could see two micro wind turbines, which probably reflect the major's interest in this kind of decentralised electricity production. Solar panels would be less profitable here, as the valley doesn't seem to get much sun, at least in winter(but also in summer the sun hours are probably quite few during the day).
The more gentle mountainous configuration of the valley made it even possible to have a decent-sized factory hall built in Sega, which hosts a still working tannery(15 people are still working there, from what the bar keeper of the Bar Alpino in Parrocchia says)
Parrocchia centre, with two hotels(one closed) and the Bar Alpino
The two sides of the valley are separated in a similar way as the main Valley is separated by the river. There are only few road connections between them and almost each village is facing one or more villages on the other side
There is an elder care centre in Raossi, which is the fraction that also hosts the municipality and other institutions and services
In Riva di Vallarsa, there is an ice skating place, which seems to be quite crowded(compared to the roads of the valley and the villages, where you could barely meet anyone) and people seem to have come by foot. In general, it seems that quite a few activities are organised for children and parents
Important thoughts
Important observations