Mauro Varotto on Art as a Tool for Mountain Revival

Mauro Varotto, author of "Montagne di mezzo," argues that artistic and cultural projects can revitalize mountain areas by dismantling stereotypes and fostering sustainable development. He critiques the inadequacy of altimetric criteria alone for defining "medium mountains," advocating for a combined geographical and anthropological approach he terms "montanità." Varotto emphasizes the need for legislative recognition of "pluriattività"—hybrid realities that combine agriculture, hospitality, web management, and cultural mediation—and calls for bureaucratic simplification and transparency, especially in food labeling. He highlights the concept of "abbandono" (abandonment) as an opportunity for shared value, citing the "Adotta un terrazzamento" project in Canale di Brenta (started 2010) as a model involving university, local administration, and associations. Varotto warns against projects that merely attract tourists without benefiting local communities or the environment, and stresses the importance of "natural mediators" who bridge external expertise and local needs through shared labor like snow shoveling or grass mowing. He envisions mountains as laboratories for redefining city-rural relationships, moving beyond the "dominant center-dominated periphery" model toward a new renaissance combining humanism, art, and sustainability.