A treasure trove to discover and cherish for at least one day, and an asset to treasure forever: these are the small Italian municipalities, to which Legambiente has been dedicating a special national holiday for eight years: “Loving Italy.” The most recent edition of this holiday was held on May 8, under the High Patronage of the Office of the President of the Italian Republic and in collaboration with Enel Green Power and ANCI. Its main theme was the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, the contribution of the municipalities to the unification process and the creation of an Italian national identity.
Italy’s most beautiful and characteristic towns and boroughs opened their gates, once again, to citizens and tourists for a great holiday, in which people could engage in guided visits, town walks, wine tasting; as well as visit exhibitions, participate in conventions, or attend folk and musical shows and festivals.
As was reminded by the organizers of the event, some 72% of the more than 8 thousand Italian municipalities have fewer than 5 thousand inhabitants each. This Italy, which consists of more than 55% of the national territory, is made of pristine natural landscapes, parks and protected areas, where 10.5 million citizens live. As many as 5,835 small towns and boroughs do a fabulous job of preserving and maintaining the territory as the geographical expression of their culture, knowledge, and traditions.
SMALL (AND BIG) RENEWABLE PROJECTS GROWING
Thanks to the support provided by Enel Green Power, the holiday was also an occasion to talk about the growing success of renewable sources in Italy, especially in single households and small municipalities. During 2010, in fact, production of clean energy has experienced a real boom at all levels, from the private sector to industrial-size facilities.
“Renewable energies not only have low environmental impact, but they also use local resources, through well-distributed small and medium-sized facilities. For this reason, they integrate well with the diverse local realities in Italy, rich in natural resources such as water, geothermal power, wind, sunlight, and biomass. This compatibility is confirmed by the data: of the 7,661 Italian municipalities that use energy produced from renewable sources, 69% are small municipalities”, explained Enel Green Power’s CEO Francesco Starace, in his speech at Pollica (Salerno) during the Loving Italy celebrations, which he attended jointly with Vice-President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Maurizio Lupi, President of the Campania Region Stefano Caldoro, and Legambiente’s Honorary President Ermete Realacci.
The collaboration between EGP and Legambiente is part of a wider joint effort by the two organizations on behalf of sustainability, as explained by Head of CSR and Association Relations Marina Migliorato:
“The development of joint projects with various associations represents, for Enel, an important opportunity for dialogue and exchange; together with the many diverse initiatives already being implemented, it confirms, in practice, the fact that our company has selected an approach based on continuous and constant attention to the needs and concerns expressed by organizations representing various interest groups.”
From Enel Together
Issue 4 |Year VIII. May 2011
