In almost twenty years of activity and ten editions, the census The Places of the Heart of FAI it collected over 9.600.000 votes, and the places of the heart reported were more than 39.500. It is the hidden and less known Italy, with all its beauty and its artistic-environmental value, the one that is staged again this year on the occasion of the eleventh edition of The Places of the Heart. The most important popular event linked to the artistic heritage of our Peninsula.
Until next December 15th it will be possible to vote for one's favorite places and get as many people as possible to vote for them. The more votes they get, the more they will be able to access the funding made available by the FAI thanks to the partnership with Intesa Sanpaolo for a restoration and enhancement project.
Among the Italians there is a great desire for Italy, to travel and get to know our country
This campaign, over the years, has seen an exponential increase in membership, confirming how much desire for Italy there is in our country. “Italians love Italy - comments the president of the FAI Marco Magnifico - and perhaps the pandemic has further increased this sentiment. Among the Italians there is a great desire to travel and get to know Italy, especially the most hidden one. The Places of the Heart project also meets this desire. Giving trust and power to citizens. Committing them to indicate community assets to be protected and promoted. Dear places, to be saved from abandonment, decay or oblivion, so that they are recovered and valued, known and frequented ".
A great heritage of history, art and nature that can also become an effective development lever
An operation that, in addition to taking care of the most beautiful and precious Italy, could also become an important starting point for economic growth. The Places of the Heart - which are the heritage of history, art and nature of the country, in which local communities recognize and identify themselves - can in fact become effective development levers. So far 139 restoration and enhancement projects have been supported in 19 regions. In many cases it was enough to collect votes to trigger virtuous circles. With actions that have unexpectedly and radically changed the fate of a territory.
The numbers of this initiative tell us that in the ten editions of the census so far concluded, 6.500 Municipalities were affected by the voting. Over 9 million and 600 thousand votes, 39 thousand 692 places voted. In the last edition of 2020 (the project is biennial) the votes collected were 2.353.932, with 323 places that obtained more than 1.000 votes, and 302 spontaneous committees activated for the reporting and promotion of specific locations and sites. To date, in ten editions, there have been over 1500 committees.
How do you vote? Expressing oneself with a click on the site www.iluoghidelcuore.it or through the signature collection forms, useful tools for a widespread dissemination of this FAI campaign. Starting, for example, with schools. The most voted places will be rewarded upon presentation of a project: € 50.000, € 40.000 and € 30.000 will be awarded to the first, second and third place respectively. FAI and Intesa Sanpaolo, after the publication of the results, will also launch the usual call for proposals for the selection of intervention projects according to which all owners (public or non-profit) and stakeholders of the places that have obtained at least 2.500 votes will be able to submit to the Foundation a request for support on the basis of specific action projects.
The small towns that are "in the heart of Italy"
Also in this edition the FAI is launching a particular ranking of places which will receive a special prize. I Borghi and their Places, which allocates a maximum of 20 thousand euros for the presentation of a project. With this initiative we want to make a contribution to the enhancement of that part of internal Italy - the places of the heart that are "in the heart of Italy" - neglected by the development of the past, which suffers from depopulation and a consequent degradation of territories and communities. Small towns are one of the many values of Italy. Suffice it to say, as the FAI president recalls, "That 92 percent of PDO and PGI products have to do with small municipalities. Where, truly, beauty is produced ".
Appointment next February 2023 for the presentation of the results of The Places of the Heart. And for the launch, now only anticipated, of a new FAI initiative entrusted to Podcast. Thanks to this project, you will be able to present your place of the heart with a story that will explain the reason for the choice and why the place of the heart object of the Podcast must be saved.
(featured photo: Boccadasse, Genoa)
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