The citizens of Sarmato, a municipality in the province of Piacenza, have decided how to redevelop three symbolic places of the city: the gardens of via Nenni, those of via Verdi and the area of the former Topo Nero cinema, which has become a public park. In Valnure, also in the Piacenza area, citizens were involved in the creation of a site accessible with a QR-Code to make the area better known, while with the “Energy Communities” project the aim is to intercept resources to make life in the Apennines more attractive and counteract the depopulation of the mountains. This is how public spaces are redesigned in Piacenza and its surroundings, directly involving citizens.
With nine projects supported by the Emilia-Romagna Region through the allocation of almost 135 thousand euros, the province of Piacenza leads the way, along the Via Emilia, in the activation of projects promoted by local administrations which involve the direct participation of citizens. The opportunity to see up close what local administrations have achieved to involve citizens was the session of the Statute and Regulations commission, chaired by Silvia Piccinini, which met today in Sarmato (Piacenza).
“The Statute commission wanted to see firsthand what it means to deal with participation and chose Sarmato and the province of Piacenza as confirmation of the dynamism of this territory, of the commitment of local administrations and citizens”, explained President Piccinini. “Sarmato – she underlined – is an example of what can be done by acting in a shared and participatory manner. Participation is not just a way of acting, but it is concreteness in improving the lives of citizens. Participation gives real results and today we see them up close. Some of these projects, in particular, bring together environment and redevelopment thanks to the opportunity represented by energy communities”.
Representatives of the local authorities involved illustrated the objectives and successes of the participation projects to the Commission.
“With ‘Giodiamo a Sarmato’ and ‘Topo Nero’ we have created the conditions for the redevelopment of three important areas: the playground in via Nenni, which will be strengthened, the area in via Verdi, which will become a green space with attention to children, and the former Topo Nero cinema, which was demolished and replaced by the school garden”, explained Claudia Ferrari, mayor of Sarmato. “Precisely with regard to the former Black Mouse – he continued – we also decided to invest in the preservation of the memory of what was one of the most important places in Sarmato: we have built a paper and electronic archive to collect videos, photos, images, related documents to the former cinema so that its history is not lost. Our project holds together the history of several generations. All our projects were submitted to the citizens’ vote.”
This was echoed by Serena Groppelli, Councilor for Participation of the Municipality of Piacenza: “In September 2023, the result of the participatory project ‘Neighbourhood Laboratories’ was made public, which, thanks to an investment of 15 thousand euros, allowed citizens to share with the Municipality the methods of management of public spaces. This is an important document, because it allows the Administration to act taking into account the ideas of the people of Piacenza. It was a first experience from which, in 2024, others were born, leading citizens to present 47 projects for the management of public spaces: we will finance at least seven of them, again following the citizens’ indications”.
The commitment in Valnure-Valchero through some projects to promote the area is also important. “We have created a site accessible with a QR-Code to raise awareness of the natural and cultural beauties of the Piacenza valleys with a view to promoting tourism. We will identify the most important places and put them online”, highlighted Stefano Favari, head of Tourist Promotion of the Valnure Valchero Union, while the deputy mayor of Bettola Luca Corbellini illustrated the commitment of the Alta Val Nure Mountain Union in promoting, through participation, the creation of energy communities: “We want to evaluate to what extent the energy community guarantees economic income that makes living in the Apennines convenient by increasing, over the next thirty years, the number of residents in the valley and thus reversing the depopulation of the mountain”.
“We are faced with truly relevant projects, especially for smaller municipalities. My appreciation is addressed first and foremost to the mayors, and in particular to Sarmato” commented regional councilor Maura Catellani (Lega).
The regional councilor for “participation” Paolo Calvano recalled the Region’s policies on the matter: “In recent years, 3 million euros have been invested and the meetings in the area, like today’s, demonstrate the foresight in the choice to promote and enhance participation with a specific law, an effective way to keep representative democracy and participatory democracy together. Thanks to participation, citizens have transformed from simple users of public spaces and services to co-designers and even managers”.
