1 Index Index Pag. 2 Acknowledgements Pag. 4 Foreword Pag. 7 Introduction Pag. 10 Chapter 1. The methodological approach Pag. 12 1.1 Methodology 12 1.2 The hypothesis 14 Chapter 2. A theoretical framework Pag. 16 2.1 A definition of minority 16 2.2 New minorities 20 2.3 Peculiar aspects of migration 24 2.3.1 Amenity migration 25 2.3.1.1 Retirement migration 26 2.3.1.2 Counterurbanization 27 2.3.1.3 Migrating to the mountain 28 2.3.2 Return migration 32 2.3.3 The commuting politician 35 Chapter 3. A historical framework Pag. 37 3.1 A History of Slavia: the pre-Italian period 37 3.2 Slavia and Italy: the beginning of a tormented relation 40 3.3 The post-war period: a slow normalization 46 3.4 The protection law and the present time 50 Chapter 4. Abandon and underdevelopment Pag. 56 4.1 Some statistics 59 4.1.1 1871-1921. A period of growth 61 4.1.1.1 Torre Valleys 61 4.1.1.2 Natisone Valleys 62 4.1.1.3 Resia 62 4.1.2 1921-1951. The warning signs of collapse 63 4.1.2.1 Torre Valleys 64 4.1.2.2 Natisone Valleys 64 4.1.2.3 Resia 64 4.1.3. 1951-2011. The collapse 65 4.1.3.1 Torre Valleys 66 4.1.3.2 Natisone Valleys 66 4.2 About the economic situation 66 4.2.1 1871-1921. The development of the Udine lowland and the post war reconstruction 69 4.2.2 1921-1951. From the world crisis to another post war period 72 2 4.2.3 1951-2011. The Udine province on a crossroads: the abandon of the mountain and the miracle of North-Eastern development 73 Chapter 5. Taipana. A case study. Pag. 83 5.1 Population 84 5.2 Services 85 5.3 Meeting places 88 5.4 Tourism 89 5.5 Economic activities 90 5.6 The Berra project 92 5.6.1 The mayor 94 5.6.2 Diversity and development policy 95 5.6.3 Pull factors 96 5.6.4 Weak points 98 5.6.5 Some statistics 99 Chapter 6. Taipana today: a community? Pag. 105 6.1 Social structure 109 6.2 The hamlets communities 110 6.3 The new inhabitants 111 6.4 The economic impact on the territory 115 6.5 The school 116 6.5.1 A bilingual school? 120 6.6 Over the school 121 Chapter 7 – Conclusions Pag. 123 7.1 The future of Taipana 125 Annex 1. Voices from Taipana Pag. 127 1. 127 2. 134 3. 137 Annex 2. Interview guidelines Pag. 139 Bibliography Pag. 143 Web sites Pag. 151 3 Acknowledgements I owe gratitude to many persons, who made this PhD path possible and accompanied me through it. I declare nothing new if I say that prof. Giorgio Osti is a great sociologist. But he proved to be also a sensitive person, and I thank him for his patience and his great competence. Thanks to prof. Gasparini, who made this study period possible and encouraged me to do it, and to prof. Blasutig, whose advices were very helpful in taking my choice about the research topic. Thanks to prof.ssa Boileau: when she taught us her first lesson, I realized I would never become a sociologist. Later, her pragmatic approach helped me out of most of my doubts. Thanks to all my PhD colleagues, who turned this study period into a life experience, beyond its possible academic results. Being a member of our group equalled a long experience in field research. Thanks to the colleagues of the University of Trieste whose patient and silent work is behind every research, without being ever recognized: above all, the staff of the Biblioteca sociopolitica and the staff of the Ripartizione dottorati, especially Elena Benedetti and Fabio Strechelli. Thanks to the staff of the Slovenski raziskovalni inštitut of Trieste, and especially Devan Jagodic and Zaira Vidali, who helped me so much at the beginning of my research and let me discover their institution. SloRi is a wonderful example of where the support to minority culture can lead to. Thanks to Laila Wadia for her patience in reviewing the Foreword, with the deepest admiration and respect towards a person who can wonderfully write in her own mother tongue and also in mine, without any sign of arrogance. Special thanks to Giulia Lendaro, a research colleague and a friend: she could be a great scholar, but since in Italy research doesn’t pay a living, she will be great in whatever she decides to become. Thanks to Alessandro Sfrecola and to my colleague Michele Ianni: without your kick off, I wouldn’t have dared trying. Thanks to my colleagues Anna Brumat for her help in working around bureaucracy and Luciano Acquavita for his one-question-a-day help. Thanks to the mayor of Taipana, Mr. Elio Berra, for spending some of his precious time explaining me the deepest meaning of life in his village. There would be so much more to say about it, but a town researcher is probably not able to understand it all. Thanks to the deputy director of the Istituto Comprensivo of Tarcento, Elena Romano, who found the time to answer our questions and solve our doubts. Her competence, passion and involvement in her job are astonishing, and are an example of how much public administrations owe to their staff. 4 Thanks to all the people of Taipana who were so kind to accept being interviewed by an inexperienced fieldworker. Finally, my most wholehearted thanks to my family, who raised me exhorting me never to stop learning: maybe now even they have enough of it. And thanks to Ma., who in the last 15 years has taught I should always use my brain, and keep on doing what I want to do, in spite of any hindrance. In an interview to the daily newspaper “La Repubblica”, published on April 16 th , 2006, Rita Levi Montalcini said: “The brain (…) is a wonderful organ. If you nurture it, it works. If you let it go and you let it retire, it grows weak. Its plasticity is amazing. Therefore we must keep on thinking” 1. I started this PhD when I was afraid my brain was slowly becoming a fossil. But fortunately Dr. Levi Montalcini was right. 1 L. Bentivoglio: “Rita Levi Montalcini, vita da Nobel. “Il pensiero, se lo coltivi, funziona””, in La Repubblica , April 16th, 2006. “…quell'organo magnifico che è il cervello. Se lo coltivi funziona. Se lo lasci andare e lo metti in pensione si indebolisce. La sua plasticità è formidabile. Per questo bisogna continuare a pensare.” 5 To Rita, Gianfranco, Luisa & Serena 6 Foreword Let me take you for a drive. Udine. The highway exit leads to a straight warehouse and shopping centre lined road. It’s one and the same as the outskirts of many other modern towns. A glimpse of mountains on the horizon. But this is not where we stop. Tricesimo. Towns blending into one another. The very same warehouse and shopping centre lined road. A few hand made furniture stores. Now we see the mountains getting bigger. Let’s drive on. Qualso. Still skirting Udine, but without shopping centres this time. It is an old fashioned dormitory town with plain detached houses. The mountains are closer but still make up an indefinite skyline. And our road is further yet. Nimis. The landscape starts warming your heart. The road gets narrower and steers through vineyards: this is where Ramandolo doc wine is produced. Smarter looking single houses appear. We are just a few kilometres from the nearest big town. So it’s almost countryside. The mountains start looking real. But our road goes on. Torlano. And, countryside, finally. And the smell of it - the smoky scent of fireplaces, the cleaner air, farm implements resting on the side of the road. Dark tree-cloaked mountains, so thick with forest that one would have to fight to make his way through them. But let’s head further. Kilometre 17 from Udine. On exiting Torlano, the landscape changes radically. Now a steep narrow hairpin mountain road. Tall, dark green trees flanking it, almost embracing one another. Here and there, an opening in the woods. The road offers a glimpse of the river Cornappo thundering wildly at the bottom of a narrow lichen covered canyon. From time to time the river calms down to rest in deep green pools, where one can hardly resist taking a quick dip. The mountains are out of view now, as we are in the midst of their green heart. Our car climbs further up the slope, and we’re almost there. An eight-post crossroads. Eight places to go to, eight choices to make, eight roads to take. Where will they lead us to? Eight towns, or villages maybe? Over the ages, these woods were chosen by a number of people big enough to populate eight different settlements. (Well, no, not all villages, since one sign says “Slovenia/Slovenija”. A foreign country thus lies just around the corner, the borderline being just 15 kilometres further ahead). The road signs bear two names: one in Italian, and the other foreign sounding. Debellis/Debeleš, Cornappo/Karnahta and Monteaperta/Viškorša on the left; Taipana/Tipana, Montemaggiore/Brezje, Platischis/Plestiš ča, Prossenicco/Prosnid and Slovenia/Slovenija on the right. Here’s where we turn right and drive on. 7 Just before the bridge, we encounter a single house along the road.