By Anna Higueras, Project Manager, and Elsa Boloix, Communication Manager.

The HeritACT project will test the toolkit and solutions for better communication and participation in cultural heritage in three pilot locations: Milan (Italy), Ballina (Ireland) and Elefsina (Greece). In this regard, the Italian pilot brings together the past and future of heritage to establish ecological practices and collaborative design facilities through a traditional rural way of life in properties known as cascine.

The current layout of the city of Milan is largely based on ancient rural divisions and water infrastructure. The core of the global management of the territory were these previously mentioned farmland estates called “cascine”, where each cascina was a self-sufficient community managing territorial relations and local ecosystems. The existing urban cascine have evolved in very diverse ways from different origins and initiatives, and today they act as a link between central and peripheral areas, urban space and the countryside driven by agriculture. As part of the HeritACT project, the Milan pilot will interact with the system of cascine as living historical heritage and cultural engines located in key peripheral districts that have now been enclosed in urbanized areas.

The Milan pilot will be characterized by:

i) presence of significant historical heritage in relation to open public spaces,

ii) established social connections with specific groups and local communities through citizens and/or non-profit organizations,

iii) participation in educational, cultural and ecological practices with local actors.

The Italian partners visited the Cascina Linterno

Cascina Linterno is an ancient farmhouse in the west of Milan, enclosed in a large peri-urban park, a historic farmhouse from the 11th century protected since 1999 by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. This historical monument was saved from urban expansion thanks to the commitment of a farmer and some local associations. Linterno is a place where nature, history and culture meet: sustainable agriculture, beekeeping, environmental education and cultural events are some of the activities that keep this place alive.

Main aspects of the Milan pilot

The Milan pilot aims to strengthen the ecosystem of people and cultural initiatives that orbit around each of the involved cascine, establishing ecological practices and collaborative design facilities as applications of the principles of the New European Bauhaus in the specific context of urban cultural landscapes. The communities of the selected cascine will be engaged through the different participatory phases, leveraging established partnerships and successful experiences. In each phase, the specific vocation of each site and ecosystem of actors will be co-identified with the tools of HeritACT and updated through the appropriate solution from the HeritACT portfolio.