Whispering Wind - Come voci nel Vento
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Project Title
Full project title
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Project Description
"Whispering Wind" is a project that aspires to give a bright new future to historical agricultural heritage embracing principles of sustainability and accessibility, through the synthesys of regeneration of fragile territories and social inclusion. Connected to the logic of slow turism, the project is conceived to generate a synergic system of functions, a sort of stage in which landscape, architecture and people are characters all joined in a microcosm of relationship throught parts.
Geographical Scope
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Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
EU Programme or fund
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Description of the project
Summary
"Whispering Wind" is a project that aspires to generate sense of belonging through the synthesys of regeneration of fragile territories and social inclusion, in order to give a bright new future to historical agricultural heritage embracing principles of sustainability and accessibility.
Connected to the logic of slow turism, the project is conceived to generate a synergic system of functions, a sort of stage in which the main characters are represented by landscape, architecture and people, all joined in an empathic microcosm of relationship throught parts.
The project concerns the regeneration of a Cistercian rural complex, traditionally named "Grangia", dating back to the X Century, that has become part of the VENTO cycling trail, a project of slow turism that incentrates itself on the regeneration of fragile areas by developing virtuous circles of local integration and circular economy, while moving on a territorial scale.
Starting from these aspects, Whispering Wind intends to integrate local and territorial dimension through a concept of social inclusion.
The responsibility of a regeneration project also consists in knowing how to involve entities and realities that operate within its context of influence, to draw strength and consistency from the involvement itself of multiple subjects.
For this reason, in addition to a close relationship with the VENTO cycle path, Whispering Wind integrates the activities of the Park Authority of the Piedmont Region: a linear park that develops along the river Po to protect its delicate and unique biodiversity.
Key objectives for sustainability
A project that aspires to the restoration of places, processes and uses of the agricultural tradition, the rediscovery of the values of non-automated manual labor, to the translation of these languages in contemporary times, adapted to our reality to reinterpreting and reworking to understand the meaning of these places in the past related to the architectural heritage that characterizes them.
Regeneration through the sustainable restoration of rural architecture and the establishment of processes and activities closely related to the territory, but always looking at the full picture, with the aim of restoring historical, cultural and architectural heritage through activities based on principles of local circular economy, autonomy / independence of the single microcosm, supportive and sustainable processes of production, laying the foundations to create a system of self-sustaining "buds" by relying on a slow and sustainable tourism line, in a cooperative overall perspective that develops on a territorial scale.
For this reason, it hosts activities related to the promotion of typical local products, local services, points of interest and cultural and natural heritages, which all can be integrated with information related to other realities, connected through the slow tourism line, to develop a single storyline composed by single elements.
The project also integrates the activities of the Park Authority of the Piedmont Region, as it locates itself within the protected territory of the Piedmont’s Po Park. An additional opportunity to follow guidelines for the enhancement and protection of natural resources and for the use of the territory in the name of environmental sustainability.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The project aims to restore dignity to an architectural complex of historical-cultural value in the agricultural context, which, for a long time, has not been valued and whose origins are in danger of being forgotten; this intent is linked to the incoroporation of activities capable of involving the local community and new users while generating new inclusive employment.
The beauty and charm of an architectural heritage regenerated through the recovery and re-adaptation of spaces and buildings of local historical value, maintaining their identity meaning, are features that give strength to the processes of integration, generation of a sense of belonging and identification with the place itself.
A place becomes meaningful when we feel part of it, when, both in terms of aesthetics and in terms of use of the spaces that compose it and the activities related to it, we get involved.
A place becomes meaningful when it belongs to everyone, and where everyone feels at home.
With this perspective, a system of activities, aiming at the same time to occasional users, to people residing in neighboring places and to the inhabitants themselves residing in the structures integrated in the project, was conceived.
These activities concern: the relationship with nature with insights into the local natural territory, the promotion of culture through initiatives and events related to local tradition and environmental education, accommodation and catering activities related to the slow cycle tourism of the VENTO line, sports activities and initiatives of an inclusive nature, recreational initiatives and events adaptable to all ages, meeting and sharing places such as a literary café, library, cultural center, rooms dedicated to reading, conferences, events, and even annual festivals dedicated to the microcosm itself, to promote adhesion and participation.
The system also integrates the activities related to the Park Authority of the Piedmont Region, of which it houses one of the o
Key objectives for inclusion
Behind the project there’s the intention to generate a place for everyone: a heritage that, through the regeneration of its architecture and the territory itself in which it is inserted, contributes to the generation of a concept of a supportive and inclusive society.
For this reason, specific activities have been identified within the project, that can be carried out by fragile individuals, too often deprived of the possibility to achieve their own independence by the mostly competitive and exclusive contexts that characterize our society.
This, for both occasional users and local permanent employees.
Catering activities, accommodation facilities linked to slow tourism, temporary and continuous hospitality and assistance granted, agricultural, cultural and workshop activities: all areas in which, following an inclusive project, fragile subjects can be integrated to generate a place that is welcoming for everyone.
A project at the base of which are concepts such as cooperation and removal of obstacles and architectural barriers, to make the place accessible to those who live it every day as much as to those who use it for limited periods of time, both physically and humanly.
It is a project based on the concept of organic unity and sharing, as it aims to become a point of reference for local communities, promoting activities that involve local realities by establishing participatory processes with the inhabitants of the neighboring areas.
But the project is not limited to the local dimension: it develops on several levels of involvement and integration which, starting from the local level, open up to the supra-local and supra-regional level, relying on a slow tourism project that relates with different realities that compose the same country.
Moving together and participating to grow together.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
The project was created to be multidisciplinary, and it combines different scopes with each other in an equivalent way. In this case, the context in which it is inserted concerns at the same time both principles of environmental sustainability, as it is located within the borders of a regional protected area, and territorial regeneration, as it inserts itself in a territorial context of fragile agricultural heritage, identified by a rural architecture complex of historical and cultural value.
The intention of recovering the place as a historical heritage and with a view to territorial inclusion is closely linked to the sphere of social inclusion, since it represents the opportunity to generate a new sense of community. The architectural beauty and the restoration of traditions, the charm of rural architecture and the natural context in which it is inserted, make it necessary to recover the peculiar features, restoring their original beauty and making the place welcoming for those who will animate it.
