In the Valbelluna there are houses that have been shut for years and people who are looking for a home. Between the two, often, only a bridge is missing. Primavera Casa is the project trying to build it, and for a few seasons now it has understood that a reopened house is not enough: relationships need reopening too.
What Primavera Casa is
Supported by Fondazione Cariverona, the project has been running since September 2022. It works with owners to bring unused homes back into use and make them available to people who want to move to the Valbelluna to live and work. It has been run from the start by the social cooperative Società Nuova, Isoipse, ACLI Servizi and the Consorzio Turistico Dolomiti Prealpi.
Over time the project has involved several municipalities across the Feltrino, the Valbelluna and the Alpago, and has opened a dialogue with local businesses, which often struggle to find housing for their staff.
Empty houses, new residents, community
The starting point is concrete: the Belluno mountains are losing residents while many houses stand empty. Bringing them back into use answers the needs of those who arrive, but also of those who stay, because every lived-in house is a piece of village coming back to life.
There is, however, a less visible step. Anyone moving to a new valley has to find their way among faces, habits and places they do not know. This is where the project chose to widen its view: from housing to welcoming.
The Trovarsi series
From this idea comes TROVARSI (“meeting each other”), a free series spread across the valley, conceived and organised by Isoipse with the rest of the team. It has two sides: Trovarsi al sole, with walks and bike rides in the Valbelluna ending at a mountain dairy or an inn, and Trovarsi all’ombra, with informal talks in bars and taverns with an expert guest. The stated goal only looks simple: helping people meet someone new and spend quality time together.
This week’s events
Danger, with glaciologist Jacopo Gabrieli
On Thursday 24 September at 8 pm, at the bar Da Kitty in Can, Cesiomaggiore, Jacopo Gabrieli, CNR researcher, glaciologist and president of Dolomiti Emergency, talks about climate, extreme heat, rockfalls and collapsing glaciers, and the relationship between fear and adaptation. Full details on the event page (in Italian).
Power, with mayor Sindi Manushi
On Sunday 27 September at 6 pm, at EXPILONI in piazza Giorgio Piloni, Belluno, Sindi Manushi, mayor of Pieve di Cadore, discusses young people and access to resources, representation, lakes and intensive farming, and the everyday work of local government. Full details on the event page (in Italian).
Both talks are free but places are limited: booking is via primaveracasa.eu or Eventbrite. The talks are held in Italian. The series continues on 1 and 8 October with two more talks and, until 18 October, with the Trovarsi al sole outings.
Why we are writing about it
So much for the facts and the project’s aims. Our reading is this: there is a lot of talk about making the mountains attractive, much less about welcoming. Primavera Casa and Trovarsi shift the focus from attraction to staying, from those who come to look to those who decide to remain. It is a long-term bet, but it starts with simple gestures: a door that reopens, an evening at the bar with someone you do not know yet.
Find out more
- Project website: primaveracasa.eu
- Contact given by the project: info@primaveracasa.eu
