“Shared Paths”, from Lake Como to the Lariano Triangle: a new initiative for the future of the local area begins at Insubria on 24 October

How can small municipalities remain vibrant? How can tourism be managed without losing the identity of local communities? How can services, mobility and opportunities be guaranteed for young families? And, above all, how can challenges that extend beyond the administrative boundaries of individual towns be addressed?

These questions lie at the heart of “Sentieri comuni” (“Shared Paths”), the public event scheduled for Saturday 24 October, from 9 am to 2.30 pm, at the University of Insubria’s Sant’Abbondio campus in Como.

The event will mark the first shared step in an initiative promoted by the Municipality of Faggeto Lario, with the involvement of the University of Insubria, the GREEN Research Centre of the University of Aosta Valley, and several local administrations from Lake Como and the Lariano Triangle, including Sormano, Moltrasio, Blevio, Pognana and Zelbio.

The project has emerged from dialogue between local administrators and academics, based on a shared belief: the transformations affecting these areas increasingly require a common vision.

Some lakeside municipalities are facing growing tourism pressure, an increase in short-term rentals and the need to manage rapid change. In more inland areas, including mountain hamlets within the same municipalities, the most pressing issues are depopulation, the loss of young people and families, the reduction of local services and difficulties in transport connections. These are different but closely interconnected challenges, which can be addressed more effectively through strategies that go beyond individual municipal boundaries.

“Sentieri comuni” will be a participatory working session and the concrete starting point of a project intended to continue over time.

Researchers and academics from the University of Insubria and the GREEN Research Centre of the University of Aosta Valley will help facilitate the process. Rather than proposing predetermined solutions, they will support the discussion through a participatory approach, helping to identify critical issues, build relationships and explore possible shared projects.

The day will be structured around four thematic working groups: tourism, depopulation, essential services and mobility. These four issues are deeply interconnected: the ability to continue living in small communities depends on access to services, schools, transport and opportunities. At the same time, tourism growth can represent a resource only if it is managed sustainably and incorporated into a strategy that connects lakeside areas with inland and mountain communities.

The working groups will bring together local administrators, business operators, associations, professionals, students and citizens interested in actively contributing. The aim is to compare experiences and challenges, identify shared needs and highlight areas in which collaborations and pilot initiatives could be developed.

24 October will therefore be a starting point, not an endpoint: the beginning of a process in which academic research, administrative experience and everyday knowledge of local communities can come together to address a question that concerns the entire area: what do we want the towns and communities of Lake Como and the Lariano Triangle to look like in ten or twenty years’ time?