Three years after she pitched a tent in a Milan piazza to protest soaring rents, Ilaria Lamera has left the Lombardy capital for her family home in Alzano Lombardo and entered politics with Europa Verde. Her high-profile action catalyzed a wave of student demonstrations across Italy that has now resurfaced in Rome and multiple university cities.
Ilaria Lamera and the Three-Year Evolution of Student Tent Protests
Back in 2023, the face of Ilaria Lamera appeared across national newspapers and television broadcasts after she planted a tent in Piazza Leonardo da Vinci in Milan. As a nonresident student who studied at the Politecnico, she sought to draw public attention to the reality that a room at a decent price for nonresident students simply does not exist. That initial action sparked similar protests among students in Italy, and earned Lamera an Ambrogino d’oro award.
Today, Lamera is 27 years old and has returned to live with her parents in Alzano Lombardo. She has not yet graduated. In the intervening years, she spent a period working on a boat running day trips around La Maddalena, and ultimately decided to channel her activism into institutional channels by taking out a membership card with Europa Verde.
Having completed a year-long internship in the environment department under Oriana Gorini, she is focusing her political engagement in her home province.
The Return of Student Tent Encampments Across Italian Universities
While Lamera has stepped away from the encampments, a new wave of student protests has materialized across the country under the banner of the Unione degli Universitari (UDU). Encampments and pickets have appeared in Piazza Montecitorio in Rome, Milan, Bologna, Genoa, Pavia, Naples, and Lecce, launching the mobilization campaign titled Cara Italia, quanto ci costi?
In Milan, students pitched their tents in the shadow of the Bosco Verticale and near Palazzo Lombardia, as well as near the headquarters of real estate firm Coima by the Biblioteca degli Alberi. Demonstrators criticized housing projects such as the former Olympic Village conversion, arguing that only a fraction of units are designated for subsidized student housing requests while private rooms command high monthly rates. In Bologna, a permanent protest picket was established in Piazza Scaravilli by the Rete degli universitari.
Student Demands for the Upcoming Budget Law
- 4 billion euros for a multi-year plan dedicated entirely to public housing, accompanied by a halt to PNRR financing for private speculative funds.
- 2 billion euros to achieve free university access through the progressive abolition of tuition fees.
- 1.5 billion euros for broader student welfare, including free public transit, price-capped university canteens, and psychological support services across all campuses.
Local data from Lombardy illustrates the friction behind the demands. Student unions point out that across Milan’s three public universities, over 8,730 applications were filed for just 3,913 available beds, leaving students such as those identified as idonei non beneficiari without support.