1. Nicola Valentini
1042534
Val di Sole: more than a tourist destination
A new life for a piece of industrial heritage
Our heritage: what does the tourist gaze?
I was born and raised in Val di Sole, Trentino. The history of this Province is peculiar and explains
the unique material and immaterial heritage that it offers. It has been part of the Holy Roman
Empire for nine centuries (962-1806) and under the rule of the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian Empire
for more than one hundred years (1815-1918/9). The architecture, customs and traditions, food and
other elements of immaterial heritage have been strongly influenced by the German-speaking area.
In spite of that, the language spoken in Trentino is Italian (together with several dialects and local
languages), and many traditions and festivities are typically Italian, as is the culture developed
during the last century since the Province became part of Italy after the end of World War I.
If this position between the German and Italian world, in the middle of the Alps, is positive and
attractive now, it has not been for hundred of years. Very hard life conditions, poor food provisions,
cold and snowy weather and war characterized the lives of people. During the already mentioned
WWI, Trentino, and particularly Val di Sole, was one of the main battlefields of the whole conflict.
Since the 1970s our cultural offer is based on those harsh centuries. Tourists enjoy themselves
eating our traditional poor food (e.g. polenta, which constituted the only plentiful food source for
decades, causing deadly illnesses such as pellagra), staring astonished at displayed (and abandoned
for centuries) handicrafts and visiting forts, war museums and memorials, the most important
elements of our built heritage, which are significant symbols of pain and death.
Tourists staring at ancient crafts displayed at the Dimaro's Ecomuseum

2. It has to be said that many cultural attractions have been developed in the valley during the last few
years. Two Medieval castles have been restored and opened in 2014 (Caldes Castle in Caldes and
San Michele Castle in Ossana). An old mill in the small town of Croviana has also been restored to
host a museum where the mountain bee keeping is showed and the bee world is explained to the
visitors. Other less important pieces of heritage (e.g. sawmills and mines) have followed the same
path and are now available to the public (some of them offered in brand-new eco-museum
itineraries).
These interventions show the change that is occurring in the management of tourism in Val di Sole
(and in the Province in general). Even if every year more than 250.000 tourists visit the valley, the
place is facing typical stagnation problems of a mature destination. The core tourist product, skiing,
is still able to draw a significant amount of visitors during the winter season. Mountains are also
used by holidaymakers during summer, mainly for cycling and hiking, but these natural landscapes
are no longer enough to meet the visitors' expectations. Today's post-tourists are looking for deeper
and authentic (pseudo-authentic?) experiences. Thus, a repositioning of the offer was necessary to
satisfy the new needs. This process is hopefully going to improve the results of the summer season,
which currently is quite short (only August and, partially, July reach good numbers) and should
benefit more than the cold one from the cultural attractions thanks to the favorable weather
conditions and the different audience. The latter, indeed, is mainly composed of Italian elderly
people and families, two perfect targets for the heritage industry.
However, the new supply and its themes are not far from the ones that were already present.
Through our cultural offer, we continue to show ourselves as the poor traditional “authentic” people
we were until the early 1900s. The industry does not let them gaze anything else, with the exception
of the hotels they are staying in, and the visitors have the impression to be lost in time, far away
from the chaotic city-life. This situation creates a gap between the local population and the tourist.
The latter is inclined to see the valley as an extraneous place or simply as a holiday destination,
meanwhile locals tend to get annoyed by the crowds of vacationers during the peak season.
We might say that the stereotypes created and communicated draw together locals and tourists
physically, but separate them in two previously established groups.
Old and new stakeholders
In spite of the problems analyzed, the image created is an attractive one. Trentino, together with
Südtirol/Alto Adige, is the tenth most visited destination in Europe. In the Province operates the
Trentino Marketing DMO, which promotes the territory as a “wonderful otherness”. The sale of the
product, the welcoming of the visitors and the information services are managed by the Azienda Per
il Turismo della Val di Sole, the key stakeholder of the valley. Funivie Folgarida Marilleva Spa
manages all the ski areas in Val di Sole and ASAT – Associazione Albergatori della provincia di
Trento approximately gathers together two thousand hotel owners of the Province. Another
important stakeholder is Trentino Trasporti Spa, the local transport company.
Today, smaller associations and product clubs are arising. They are part of the change that is
occurring. Many of them are composed by young people and related to cultural activities. Others
offer dynamic and innovative products to adventurous young tourists. As we will see later on, my
project could aim at attracting target groups interested in these new kinds of experiences.
Beyond tourism: problems of a real society
If it is true that the tourist industry is the driving force of the valley, Val di Sole is not just that. In
the area lives a small community of 15.000 people. Its geographic position makes it isolated from
the big centres of the area. This distance contributes to a reduced mobility. It takes almost two hours
to get to the closer city (Trento) by public transport and three to reach the closer international
airport. Several problems are linked to this situation:
• commuters have to travel long distances everyday: many people prefer moving to the place
where they work/study;
• studying after the secondary school forces the majority of students to leave the valley: it

3. entails important economic efforts;
• manufacturing industry does not invest in the valley because of the high costs of
transportation: as we will see, the few factories operating in the area are now closed (and
workers lost their job in recent years).
Furthermore, many jobs in the area are low-skilled and seasonal. In 2012, more than 1000 people
were working in the tourist industry in the winter season and August but the number decreased to
less than 200 in May, October and November.
Together with these difficulties we have to face other hard realities. Isolation in Val di Sole is not
only related to a geographic situation. Alcohol and drug addiction is widespread among the
youngsters. The lack of recreational opportunities is a connected issue. In the last few years lots of
meeting places (clubs, discos, amateur football teams) closed down or disappeared. Suicide is
another plague. The area is historically one of the most affected by this problem in Italy. Its suicide
rate is twice bigger than the national one.
As we can see, the wealth of the tourist destination hides major social problems. These are not
showed to the visitors, who can not understand the real personality of the place.
The project: a new and shared meeting place
In the main village of the valley, Malè, there is an industrial area where several factories closed
down in the last decades. It is easy to imagine the big traumas generated by layoffs of hundreds of
people in a small place like this. For its history and characteristics, the main building is the perfect
choice for the realization of a shared meeting place. In fact:
• it is a piece of industrial heritage connected with the modern life, far away from examples of
staged authenticity;
• its isolation is symbolic and functional;
• its position, close to the cycling lane and the creek, is in the middle of important tourist
flows;
• its dimensions allow the installation of an exhibition and the creation of a space for various
activities.
Two pictures of the abandoned factory
The Exhibition
The exhibition would be divided into three sections. They present the modern life and problems of
our community by different perspectives.
Section 1 – Industrial era
In this small part of the exhibition visitors would be informed about the history of the place in
which they are. It is important for the audience to understand the previous function of the area. The
original machineries would be relocated in the building. A former worker of the factory would
welcome the guests and share with them his personal experience. It is essential to build a direct
contact between locals and holidaymakers at the beginning of the visit to introduce them into the
itinerary in the best possible way.

4. Section 2 – The years of change
As said before, the actual offer has a strong focus on the ancient past. In this section tourists and
locals would have the opportunity to see how the valley changed from the 1970s onward.
Obviously, the birth of the tourist industry has to hold an important position in this part of the
Centre. However, other aspects of the social life should be presented. The principal installation
would be a projector that, while producing an image on the wall, enlightens a spot on the underlying
scale model of the valley. The date of the picture projected would appear superimposed. This
solution, inspired by the one on display at the Montjuïc Castle (Barcelona), is a good way to fix in
time and space historic images. It helps people to clarify when and where the happenings exhibited
took place. Not to get the visitors bored the pictures should be projected only for a few seconds and
not be too many.
To more involve the holidaymakers objects from the recent past should be part of the exposition.
For example, the guest could have fun wearing the ski equipments of the 70s/80s/90s, sitting on old
chair lifts and looking at objects from the recent tourist and social past of the valley.
Section 3 – The dark side of the Sun
After having experienced the true spirit of the place (meant both as the factory and the whole
valley), visitors are now ready to deal with more sensitive subjects. In the last section of the exhibit
I would like to give the opportunity to local (especially young) artists to communicate through art
their sensations about the problems affecting our society. They would be free in choosing the
medium for their works. I would opt for this solution for several reasons:
• art is a powerful medium and can put emotionally in contact the guest and the artist;
• youngsters would be involved in the project and have a proper space inside the exhibition;
• art allows to deal with such sensitive issues without being too explicit: it would help to reach
a broader audience.
The exhibition wants to show a holistic view of Val di Sole's recent heritage and the actual situation
of its society. Thanks to this approach holidaymakers would be able to gaze upon real situations and
better understand the destination they are visiting. Furthermore, locals would have a space where
their own history is represented and preserved, and problems are put on the table.
The OpenSpace
The OpenSpace would be an area for the real encounter between locals and tourists. Here some of
the classical services found in museums would be offered in a more dynamic and informal style. We
can mention:
• the OpenCafe, run by a private person/group of people, would be open for both the
customers of the Centre and the local people;
• the OpenShop would sell only pieces of art and works realized by local artists and
craftsmen. Replicas of the operas exhibited in the third section would also be for sale;
• the OpenRoom would host temporary exhibitions and cultural events. Here meetings
between authors and guests would be organized. Visitors would also have the chance to see
the artists at work.
As mentioned before, the area is far from the city centre. It would permit the organization of music
events and other forms of conviviality without bothering the local population.
Thanks to the OpenSpace the meeting between hosts and guests would take place. If the Exhibition
makes possible the discovery of new aspects of our society, the OpenSpace wants to favour the
sharing of experiences and knowledge, building a network of people.
A target market for the Centre
Val di Sole is an important tourist destination. We have seen as in the last period new products
developed and new targets were reached. Visitors seem to be more and more interested in offers

5. related to:
• heritage (and many attractions and sites have been restored to satisfy these needs);
• slow tourism activities such as cycling, hiking and staying in B&Bs;
• dynamic and fashionable sport activities such as rafting, canyoning, mountain biking, snow
boarding.
The Centre could be able to satisfy the three ranges of needs. In fact, it:
• constitutes a place of heritage and would be home of the recent past of the location;
• would offer the opportunity to mingle with local people in an informal way,
• would have a young personality thanks to the OpenSpace Cafe, Shop and events.
Moreover, the site is very close to:
• other heritage offers (the MMape, a museum of mountain bee keeping);
• the cycling lane;
• the mountain creek.
The Centre would be the perfect choice for families, couples and young dynamic tourists who desire
to have a deeper knowledge of the destination.
Local schools would visit the Exhibition to show and explain to the students their fathers' personal
heritage and the difficulties our society has to face. Speaking about these themes could favour the
identification with the territory and the prevention of wrong behaviours among the youngsters.
The OpenSpace would play an important role in attracting the young generations and especially
local people.
We might say that the audiences of the Exhibition and the OpenSpace would be slightly different. If
it may be seen as a challenge, it is certainly a big opportunity to create encounters and networks,
which is the main goal of the Centre.