Approximately 1550 defensive structures in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region are the subject of an institutional agreement and an intervention plan aimed at protecting, enhancing tourism and culture, and reusing this unique historical heritage in Europe. The agreement, signed in Trieste at the Palazzo della Regione, involves the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, the regional management of the State Property Agency, the Directorate of Works and State Property of Defence, the Ministry of Culture, and the universities of Trieste and Udine. The signing of the three-year, renewable protocol was attended by: for the Region, the councilor for heritage, state property, general services and information systems, Sebastiano Callari, and the general director, Franco Milan; the regional director of the State Property Agency, Alessio Casci; for the Ministry of Culture, the director of the Regional Secretariat of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Roberto Cassanelli; for Defence, the director of the Directorate of Works and State Property, Inspector General Giancarlo Gambardella; for the Universities of Udine and Trieste, the rectors Roberto Pinton and Roberto Di Lenarda.

This is the first step towards promoting a broad study, conservation and enhancement of this national public heritage. The aim is to combine tourism, culture, environment and soft mobility with the promotion of public-private partnerships, following the model of virtuous practices already tested in other contexts of the European Union. The defensive structures built on the eastern border (the so-called Vallo Alpino del Littorio) represent a unique historical heritage of international importance. The extension of these structures is impressive: in the Carnia and Tarvisio areas alone, 46 barriers are located (for a total of approximately 400 works) of the over 300 of which the Vallo Alpino del Littorio was originally composed. To these works must be added the over 1000 military structures built on the Tagliamento line, in the Gorizia plain and on the Torre line. During the Cold War, the border area was among the most militarized in Italy: over 50 percent of the regional territory was in fact affected by military easements. Until now, in the absence of a plan aimed at the conservation and enhancement of this historical heritage, the care and recovery of the structures have been the responsibility of the municipal administrations or private associations. Over the years, four structures have been recovered for tourist and educational use by as many associations: a structure of the Vallo alpino del Littorio (works 2 and 3 of the Invillino Ovest barrier in the Municipality of Villa Santina), two structures of the Vallo Alpino adapted by NATO in the 50s (work 4 of the Ugovizza-Nebria barrier in the Municipality of Malborghetto-Valbruna; works 1 and 2 of the Passo monte Croce Carnico barrier in the Municipality of Paluzza) and a "special" structure, the San Michele bunker in the Municipality of Savogna d'Isonzo.

An Operations Committee has been set up to implement the agreement. It is composed of Colonel Pasqualino Iannotti, of the Directorate of Works and State Property of the Defense; for the Ministry of Culture, the Superintendent of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Simonetta Bonomi; for the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Francesco Forte, Central Director of Heritage, State Property, General Services and Information Systems; for the State Property Agency, the Regional Director, Alessio Casci; for the Universities of Trieste and Udine, respectively, Professors Elena Marchigiani and Tommaso Piffer.

"The agreement - said the regional councilor for heritage, state property, general services and information systems, Sebastiano Callari - represents a moment of extreme importance. Today public administrations know how to operate synergistically to develop our territory. Thanks to this protocol - he recalled - we are starting a process to recover disused structures that we must revitalize, transforming them into an extraordinary opportunity for development. Young people must know that these are not ruins to be abandoned, but witnesses of our history". Bringing greetings from the president of the Region, Massimiliano Fedriga, Callari expressed the belief that "Friuli Venezia Giulia can draw enormous benefits from its identity, its history and its culture. For our citizens and our young people these structures must represent a new idea of ​​growth for our territory".

For the Director of the Directorate of Works and State Property, General Inspector Giancarlo Gambardella, "the collaboration, started today, represents a virtuous example of synergy between institutions that systematize their resources to study and identify solutions for the protection, safeguard, conservation, enhancement and social, cultural and tourist reuse of the defensive structures present in the territory of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. The signing of the Agreement aims to be only the beginning of a long journey, we hope, full of concrete and tangible results, with the hope that the scope of application of the partnership can also be extended to other military infrastructures present in the regional territory. Now more than ever, even in the infrastructure sector, Defense is at the service of the country".

The director of the Regional Secretariat of the Ministry of Culture, Roberto Cassanelli, underlined how "the signing of the memorandum of understanding, which involves, in addition to the Universities of Trieste and Udine and the Region, three Ministries, the Ministry of Economy and Finance through the State Property Agency, Defense and finally Culture, also constitutes for the Secretariat, which represents the Ministry of Culture at the regional level, a fundamental act in view of the start of a shared process of protection and enhancement of the system of defensive structures along the eastern border of the region. These are structures built from the fascist period to the years of the Cold War, which in this territory determined moments of high tension. A historical value therefore worthy of being known, preserved and made accessible. The implementing body identified by the Ministry for the application of the agreement is the Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of Friuli Venezia Giulia, responsible for protection at a regional level".

“The University of Trieste – said the rector, Roberto Di Lenarda – will contribute to this ambitious project with its multidisciplinary skills. Our Region is the ideal territory to realize projects that combine tourism, culture and the environment in a constructive and innovative way. I also find it particularly significant that we are acting on structures that are the memory of a difficult and sad past of our history, giving them new life and above all new meanings”. For the rector of the University of Udine, Roberto Pinton, “thanks to this important protocol, activities of study, protection and enhancement of a historical heritage unique at a national and European level will be able to begin. The realization of this project represents an extraordinary opportunity for growth for the territory, to which the University of Udine is strongly linked, for fruitful collaboration between institutions and for the active involvement of local administrations”.

Source: Cult Press Agency – 25/10/2021