Less than an hour and a half from Milan, there is a hamlet with only 16 inhabitants. It used to be much more populated, there were about 500 inhabitants who with their two grocery stores, butcher, hairdresser, and a restaurant enlivened the village. Now, the entrance to this hamlet is about to be restricted; it will become fee-paying. Will this be a way to revive the village or a further barrier to entry? Hamleters are divided
The first HAMLET PAYMENT ENTRY in Lombardy: only 16 people can visit it for FREE
# The village that radiates history from every corner
Corenno Plinio is a small medieval village, a hamlet of Dervio, in the province of Lecco, on the eastern coast of Lake Como. Small alleys, stairways, historic buildings, a castle and a magnificent view of the lake give the village that feeling of being stopped in the 1200s; you can sense a village that radiates history from every corner.
In the Middle Ages the village’s castle, built on Roman ruins, served as a fortress and housed the inhabitants in case of aggression, but it is not only the castle that invites people to visit Corenno Plinio. Another attraction is the Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury, which was built next to the castle and where votive frescoes dating from the 14th and 16th centuries can be found. Overall, Corenno Plinio is a fortified village built into the rock, undoubtedly ideal for a trip out of town and an escape from the boiling city, nevertheless not many people know about it.
# 3-euro fee to visit the village
It seems like a magical village, yet its inhabitants are slowly abandoning it. 16 residents hope to keep their beloved Corenno Plinio from becoming a ghost town. “There are only a few of us left, but in summer tourists and second-home owners come,” says Adelia, an 83-year-old lady. To revitalize the village, the Soprintendenza delle Belle Arti has come up with an idea: make entry into the medieval village a fee.
3 euros that will become the entrance fee strictly necessary to get around the streets of the village. 3 euros that will be able to help the maintenance and preservation of Corenno’s buildings and in general the exploitation of the village. According to Corriere della Sera, however, not all residents are in favor of the introduction of the entrance fee, although it is a matter of agreeing only 16 heads, for this issue the village is divided.
# A way to protect the town or other barrier to new-people entry?
Corenno Plinio will be the first hamlet in Lombardy to introduce an entrance fee just to walk around its narrow streets. The 3 euro ticket was confirmed and presented at the inauguration of the “Village of a Thousand Steps,” that’s how Corenno Plinio was nicknamed, on Saturday, June 4, and justified as a “contribution for the maintenance of the monumental estate”. Will it be a way to revitalize the village or an additional barrier to entry?
Continue reading: The extraordinary VILLAGE with the RAINBOW DOMES
Laura Lionti
(Original article by Beatrice Barazzetti)
