Alto Adige exalts Vallarsa (the Trentino one) and its “German” spirit – Chronicle

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VALLARSA. The renowned South Tyrolean economic-political weekly “Südtiroler Wirtschaftszeitung”, also known as “Il Sole24ore Alto Adige”, read by 14,000 entrepreneurs, managers, executives, freelancers and main political representatives of the province of Bolzano, has dedicated a page in its current edition to mayor of Vallarsa, Luca Costa.

The mayor was interviewed by Mauro Stoffella, originally from Vallarsa and head of communication at the South Tyrolean trade tourism services union, one of the largest trade associations in the Region.

Costa, with his thousand ideas, but also many problems to be solved, looks with interest at South Tyrol: In the long interview he speaks at full blast: from toponyms of German origin that tell the past of Vallarsa / Brandtal, to the daily problems of an area disadvantaged.

Vallarsa / Brandtal is considered the first completely organic municipality in Italy. Organic farming has been mandatory by ordinance since 2014. Those who still want to continue conventional farming must take out an insurance policy to be able to compensate neighboring organic farmers in case their fields are contaminated with chemicals. Those who do not comply no longer receive irrigation water from the municipal system.

Courtesy of the weekly, here is the full interview by Mauro Stoffella.

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Since last autumn he is – somewhat surprisingly – the new mayor of the Municipality of Vallarsa / Brandtal: Luca Costa, a consultant in the financial world, has a thousand ideas, but also many problems to solve that accompany many small mountain realities. Its territory to be administered is located on the old Austro-Hungarian border, today a borderland between the Autonomous Trentino and Veneto.

Mayor Costa, a fact that makes an immediate impression: up to the First World War the inhabitants of his municipality in the old Tyrol were more than 5,000. Today it has just over 1,300. What happened?

Everything has happened, from the destruction of the war, the consequent poverty that fueled emigration to countries that seemed to guarantee a better future, then industrialization with the abandonment of the land for a job that guaranteed a certain income. The whole mountain has objectively suffered abandonment, therefore also Vallarsa, which despite having a beautiful environment still remains one of the few disadvantaged areas in a rich autonomous province. There were therefore objective external factors that led to abandonment, but for this we must not stop and look only outside, but we must question ourselves as a community to understand if we have done our part well, above all to understand what we can do now. .

You are the mayor of a particular area of ​​Trentino: in fact, even today, in the dialect “valarsèr”, hundreds of Cimbri words and proverbs continue to survive, in short, of German origin. What is your attitude today towards the north in similar but more prosperous territories, such as Alto Adige / Südtirol?

That’s right, Cimbrian is an ancient Bavarian dialect, considered the oldest German-speaking language, and toponyms of clear German origin still exist in Vallarsa today. We therefore look to the north with a lot of interest, sometimes even with a healthy envy towards the South Tyrolean cousins ​​for what they have managed to develop in recent decades, aware that we can learn a lot from other territories while maintaining our borderland traditions therefore open. in comparison with everyone. If we look at the current level of development of the whole of South Tyrol, including the peripheral valleys, we see a successful model that has been achieved in part also in Trentino, but unfortunately not in all territories in a homogeneous way. There is no doubt that South Tyrolean culture combined with intelligent economic policy decisions have made possible the fortunate evolutionary process South Tyrol has experienced in recent decades. For the Vallarsa area, therefore, in order to feed sustainable development, the road marked is to create awareness in all economic actors, of agriculture which together with tourism can be a reason for attraction and also fly for crafts and services, and to expect from Trentino politics, attention is paid to that part of Trentino which still remains as disadvantaged as the territory I represent.

What do you “envy” in particular with regard to economic development and land management?

I certainly envy the economic policy that also wanted to encourage the peripheral valleys with attention to agriculture and tourism, above all of quality without building as many second homes as in Trentino. Then I envy a cultural characteristic that a well-known South Tyrolean starred chef pointed out to me a few years ago in a chat about the differences between South Tyrol and some areas of Trentino … he told me that if he opens a new restaurant near him, he is happy and not he feels envy or jealousy because he is aware that having more offers creates a system and benefits everyone.

But Trentino is also an autonomous province, am I wrong?

Of course, Trentino has the same autonomy, but today, due to different political choices in the past, compared to South Tyrol, it has an economy that produces a lower GDP, therefore less revenue and consequently less possibility of spending for the Public Administration than especially in times crisis is a driving force for recovery thanks to investments.

How healthy is the economy in a small company like yours?

It depends: with respect to what? If we compare the current level of wealth with that of our grandparents we are really lucky, but if we compare the current level of our small reality with other neighboring municipalities, we see difficulties due to the periphery we live in, with small companies that do not network with each other. . In our municipality there is a lot of commuting to work due to the proximity to the city, with consequent consumption of the out-of-the-ordinary valley people going to feed the services of the valley bottom (Rovereto). As for tourism, despite having a huge basin represented by the nearby Veneto, there are few operators and little offer, therefore with a hit and run tourism that leaves very little on our territory.

Among a thousand difficulties: are there also strengths?

Of course there are also some strengths, it is that often in life we ​​fail to grasp what we have, and I believe this is above all a cultural and mental attitude fact. The current serious pandemic has brought us to a difficult moment but at the same time it can represent a great opportunity for an uncontaminated area like that of Vallarsa, which can offer those who visit it characteristics that, due to Covid, will be very important for those who live in city.

You are closely following the development of rural, peripheral and mountain areas: what are the concrete policies and measures to give them a social and economic future?

There is no doubt that without the involvement of all the operators the administration will be able to do little, but its part must do well by giving essential services and trying to make the Trentino policy understand that the marginal territories must pay more attention to the cohesion of the whole territory.

To conclude: what vision do you have of optimal management for a territory like yours …

As an administration, the goal is to give all the basic services to our citizens and make the administrative machinery work better. Do you think that even today in April 2021 we have hamlets without sewers. I therefore believe that the Municipality must do well as far as it is concerned but at the same time be a stimulus for all operators. If I imagine the Vallarsa that I would like, I see it well cared for as a South Tyrolean valley, with mountain agriculture integrated with tourism, where all the players work for themselves but also for the whole territory, aware that only together as a team can we improve this territory.

… and why should one visit his own valley?

Because it is a wonderful valley, the most beautiful valley in the lower Trentino, unspoiled and enclosed between the beautiful peaks of the Little Dolomites and the majestic Pasubio group, a border valley rich in history and nature, where you can regenerate.

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