In Chile, artisans save villages.

IN CHILE, ARTISANS SAVE THE VILLAGES

On one side, ancient craftsmen with a distant and too-often forgotten past. On the other, young entrepreneurs with a passion for restoring the ancient gems lost in the mountains of their homeland. This is happening in Chile , where the Fundación Altiplano trains students in building construction using ancient techniques typical of their tradition, alongside teaching them cutting-edge conservation techniques . The goal, of course, is to conserve Chile's cultural heritage with the Chileans themselves.

The foundation has completed a training program that has helped restore the cultural heritage of the Andes . In that harsh Chilean mountain region, dozens of small villages barely survive, abandoned by their inhabitants seeking better fortunes in the cities. The foundation's initiative aims precisely to address this disconnect between history and modernity, which often seems irreversible. Projects like this, however, demonstrate that it is possible to combine past and present, history and modernity.

Furthermore, the project offered by the Chilean foundation has also given many local people the opportunity to lay the first bricks in their careers as restorers . A career that, according to the Chileans involved—and it's easy to empathize with them—is not just manual labor, involving masks, gloves, and precise, delicate tools. Theirs is above all a spiritual work, born and growing from a passion for preserving the cultural heritage and legacy of their own country and their own nation.

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PROTECTION OF ITALIAN ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

The Chilean initiative cannot fail to be a virtuous example to be inspired by, everywhere, but especially in Italy. Indeed, despite the fact that Italy is a G7 country, a Western economic powerhouse, with numerous metropolises from north to south, the country is dotted with small villages . Small, sometimes minuscule, communities scattered across a territory that is not particularly vast but often rugged and inaccessible—just think of the most inaccessible parts of the Apennines, or the Sila Mountains of Irpinia. But also the all-too-often desolate lands of Puglia or Sicily, as well as the rural areas of the Po Valley.

There's no denying it: it's a more evident problem in the South , while in the North, small villages are increasingly becoming destinations for sustainable tourism, thanks largely to intelligent provincial and regional policies. However, aside from the classic concept of revaluing our artistic and cultural heritage, the lesson we receive from Chile could be even more valuable. Indeed, it's not difficult to imagine the possibility of establishing a similar initiative focused on the areas of Central Italy hit by the earthquakes of recent months . These tremors have claimed so many victims, and risk leaving entire towns—gems and true Italian and global heritage—abandoned to their own rubble.

Indeed, temporary housing plans need to be complemented by initiatives aimed at revitalizing the hidden and treasured beauty of villages like Amatrice and Assisi—to name just the most famous. The Chilean route is an excellent one, coming from overseas, and could perfectly meet the needs of those communities that want to remain untouched, yet risk being fragmented by the need for a roof over their heads.

HOW TO PROTECT ARTISTIC AND CULTURAL HERITAGE:

THE IMPORTANCE OF VILLAGES IN ITALY:

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