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One day, two young, globetrotting professional photographers suddenly had an intuition about the snowy peaks of Patagonia: after traveling the world, they wanted to bring that world home. And they did. They returned to Italy and decided to settle in an uninhabited village in Piedmont. And to give it a new lease of life. This is the story of Simone Mondino and Romina Manassero, two 30-year-olds born in Cuneo who decided to go live in Tetto Caban, a small village at 900 meters above sea level, at the foot of the Pisaltave. We are located between the municipalities of Peveranio and Chiusa di Persio. Seven houses and two inhabitants. The nearest municipality is Chiusa di Persio, with less than four thousand inhabitants. We are in a valley that stretches for about ten kilometers. Here the two created a reception facility for tourists, where they can talk about life away from the metropolis. «It is the realization of a dream. Before, we were photographers whose aim was to promote mountains around the world, but now we want to bring people to the often forgotten middle ground. To make calls, we have a private radio link around the mountain”, Mondino says. They define themselves as digital climbers and talk about themselves on social media. The YouTube page, called “I due vagamondi”, has thousands of subscribers. “We coined this term because we don’t want to live like before, but want to tell on social media how a small village can modernize and open up to the world”, Mondino points out.
From small things to global
I am in good company. More and more citizens are deciding to abandon crowded metropolitan environments and give new life to small cities, regions, villages and settlements of a few thousand inhabitants. It is the revenge of small businesses, which have become large by connecting services through digital technology and focusing on relationship dynamics. Scottish illustrator Tom Gauld published it in black and white in The New Yorker, with a cover that tells the hustle and bustle of small town life generated by smart work: You can glimpse someone working in a house on the outskirts of London. There is life during the day, when before people just slept.
17% of small cities are actively involved in smart projects
not only Smart Citybut Smart Land: Smaller, more liveable, better connected urban clusters emerge. «Smart Land It is no coincidence that this concept is mainly used in scientific literature in Italy. In an increasingly connected world, the digitalization of urban structures is now also necessary for Italy, where 70% of cities have fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. This model uses smart technologies to improve the quality of life in small towns”, says Matteo Risi, director of the Smart Cities Observatory at the Politecnico di Milano. Smart City Spreading beyond cities. Here are some small cities actively involved in at least one smart project: 17%.
What are the obstacles?
Investments focus on safety, energy communities and active citizen participation. «Unlike big cities, Smart Mobility It is not among the priorities, perhaps because these environments are generally less affected by traffic. Commitment is growing, although there is still a lack of qualified personnel and economic resources. The main challenge will be to be able to involve smaller urban centers: although they need more support in this transformation, they are vital because they constitute the main structure of the Italian territory”, points out Risi. Among the obstacles are the lack of personnel (52%), economic resources (48%) and skills (47%). In short, it is more of a cultural question than a technological one. “There Smart City This is a revolutionary phenomenon that has caught many people off guard. The gaps that need to be filled are often caused by long-standing deficiencies. In this regard, the starting point is first of all cultural themes, then infrastructure, which declines due to lack of economic resources, people and skills. A synchronized solution covering all factors is needed,” said Risi. This is also confirmed by a recent report published by the World Economic Forum: the digital transformation of small and medium-sized countries has disrupted traditional business models, overcome geographical and spatial boundaries, and created new lifestyles in the digital age. But there are also new challenges: insufficient resources, poor application of technology, and the lack of inter-city cooperation mechanisms. At the same time, one in three cities, even the smallest ones, want to work in the future by adopting artificial intelligence solutions: from citizen desks managed by virtual assistants to the automated management of lighting systems that adapt to weather and traffic conditions.
Network Strength
A way to optimize investments and provide continuous service. But we need the network. «The challenges of the future will be related to the requirements needed to manage certain applications obey “With the new AI Act on the horizon, this challenge can only be met through ecosystem work,” concludes Risi. At the same time, the social aspects of digital transformation are often forgotten, as demonstrated by the latest European Urban Forum, which concluded a few weeks ago. Haydee Sheombar, professor of technology at Erasmus University Rotterdam, sums it up. “We talk about technological developments, but we have to bring our attention back to people. If you want to build smart cities, you need not only infrastructure, but also smart citizens.”
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