Abstract
About 70 percent of Italian municipalities that have fewer than 5,000 inhabitants are located in difficult to access mountain areas which are often prone to multiple hazards. As clearly demonstrated by the seismic events that hit Central Italy in 2016, the socio-economic decline of these municipalities is also increasing their vulnerability. Nowadays, small villages represent an important challenge for Italy, because they require significant resources and effective strategies to both break the cycle of decline and promote their economic and social development, while also reducing their vulnerability to natural and climate related hazards. This contribution provides an overview of the initiatives recently launched in Italy in favour of small villages and outlines a methodological path to assess and enhance the overall resilience of these areas, with a focus on a case study area located in the Basilicata Region of Southern Italy.
Highlights
About 70 percent of Italian municipalities that have fewer than 5,000 inhabitants are located in difficult to access mountain areas which are often prone to multiple hazards
In Italy, attention on revitalisation of small villages was re-launched in 2017. The latter was declared the Year of the Italian Villages and during this year Law 158/2017, called the Save Villages Law, was issued. This law recognises small villages as key resources in ensuring a wider territorial safeguarding, since they play a crucial role in counterbalancing hydrogeological hazards by ensuring the widespread maintenance and protection of common goods
Based on a brief overview of the initiatives recently launched in Italy in favour of small villages, which represent about 70 percent of Italian municipalities, this paper has outlined the potential of a resilience-based approach to their revitalisation
Summary
Starting from the 1950s, urban populations have significantly increased worldwide, and exceeded total rural population in the first decade of the 21st century: to date, over 70 percent of the population of Europe lives in urban areas (UN, 2018), with it being estimated that this percentage will reach 80 percent in 2050 (UN, 2014). The concentration of population in large urban areas and the corresponding decline in rural areas have led to significant territorial imbalances, characterised by the gathering of economic activities, equipment, and facilities in urban areas, and the progressive marginalisation of small villages in rural areas, often left to the point of total abandonment This phenomenon affects Italy, where about 70 percent of existing municipalities have fewer than 5,000 inhabitants and most of them possess populations ranging from between 1,000 and 2,500 inhabitants (37.5 percent). The complex geographies of abandonment that increasingly characterise inner areas in Italy (Bassanelli, 2009; Pirlone, 2016) seem to be more and more the result of the dramatic interweaving of socio-economic and environmental factors In these areas, population decline is due to their limited accessibility and the significant lack of facilities and job opportunities, and a consequence of the occurrence of natural hazards. Most of them are carriers of diversity both in respect to heterogeneous local cultures and traditions, and in terms of climate and environmental conditions that favour a variety of vegetation, fauna, and agricultural crops
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