WTI Magazine #47    2014 November, 12
Author : buonenotizie.it      Translation by:

A special moment lived on that bench, walking hand in hand on the avenue, a smile pulled in front of a landscape, a stolen kiss close to the door. And the smells of childhood, the sounds of growing up, the looks lost in the beauty of the context. Some places get into our soul, indelible memories of stolen moments in time, moments photographed by walls, buildings, roads, nature.

Each of us has a special place, which has earned a rightful place in the memory. A place that evokes wonder and amazement. A place that attracts emotions, where you feel at peace when you get back to it. From these feelings started the new campaign of FAI (Fondo Ambiente Italiano): "Places of the Heart".

The project, a collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo, for 10 years has been speaking to the heart of the Italians for 10 years now, through the language of emotion, urging everyone to protect the places they love. Gardens, churches, olive groves, beaches, palaces, mills, villages that need to be brought back to their original splendor, so that they won't just be places of memory, but they will remain a living reality. This is the goal: to save the Italian artistic patrimony. And the best way is to put it at the forefront of our thoughts and our care.

Voting by November 30 will mean to be part of a real census for declaring and selecting sites on which to make a direct intervention of protection. This year, on the occasion of Expo 2015, the census will pay special attention to the places linked to the theme of the great event in Milan: "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life". In fact, the census will create a rank for the places of food processing and production: pastures, vineyards, mills, dairies, pastures.

The more a place will receive votes (you can do it also through the app Places of the Heart), the more chance it will have to reach the podium and obtain the contributions made available for restoration, protection and enhancement. Places ranked over the first three classified sites but still worth of more than a thousand votes, given the great success of the previous edition, will be given a chance to a particular consideration.

It 'an extraordinary opportunity to express your love for Italy, transforming emotion into concrete action, meeting others who share the same passion, those who love the beauty of Italy and will continue to seek and recognize their identity.