A bill has been introduced in Italy to promote and ensure the development of smart working in Italian villages, in an attempt to encourage progressive and permanent repopulation, as well as improve the quality of life of workers.
The initiative, promoted by Francesco Maria Spanò, member of the club’s Center for Tourism Studies (CTS), “The most beautiful villages in Italy“, was revealed during a press conference that was also attended by Riccardo Varone, president of the National Association of Italian Town Halls (Anci) of Lazio, and Fiorello Primi, president of the village club.
The idea aims to revive small Italian villages, thanks to the versatility guaranteed by “digital”, to transform them into innovative centers for the working lives of all those who choose, through long-term incentives, to live far from the metropolises.
The bill was illustrated after the pandemic caused by Covid-19 highlighted a phenomenon that has negatively characterized small Italian municipalities for years: depopulation, accompanied by an aging population and a decline in employment opportunities.
From this point of view, the country's recovery offers the possibility of rethinking the structure of Italy as a system that values cultural identity, starting with the villages that are the first holders of this ancient heritage, according to the project.
The Anci Lazio website further explains that the plan is made up of four pillars, elaborated in three articles: the repopulation of villages in Italy; a new, more versatile definition of smart working; and a guarantee of essential services and incentives aimed at migration for small municipalities.
“Travellers, students or, more simply, home office workers, chose to remain, during the 'horrible year', in their hometown, favoring the repopulation of small municipalities to the detriment of metropolitan areas”, reinforced Spanò.
According to the CTS member, it is necessary to understand that now there is “the opportunity to give new life to these villages, which until now have often been forgotten, but which have the potential to become hubs of ideas and creativity".
For the president of Anci Lazio, in turn, the Italian territories “have been experiencing the phenomenon of depopulation for years”. “Now is the time to reverse the trend: we have an important heritage, a unique treasure that, thanks to the sensitivity of laws like this, can once again be a source of pride and a new way of life, an important opportunity for citizens and administrators that we welcomed with extreme positivity”, he concluded.
The bill is presented months after several Italian cities launched initiatives to sell houses in their historic centers, for minimum prices, as a way of revitalizing the regions. (ANSA)
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