Marche, land of well-being in post-earthquake areas

Regenerating the areas of the Marche affected by the earthquake according to the development model of the land of wellbeing and quality of life through the valorisation of the agri-food tradition. This is the project "Made in Piceno - Wellbeing and Quality of Life" that was set up as an action of the Three-Year Regional Programme provided for by Marche Regional Law no. 23 of December 2023. The reference territory is that of the provinces of Ascoli Piceno, Fermo and Macerata, with a special focus on the hill and mountain municipalities of the hinterland.

At the end of June, a number of activities were redefined by including in the 'Improvement and Services' area, that of the 'Regeneration of the post-earthquake area to a land of well-being and quality of life' for a financial availability of 230,000 euro.

The project's implementing body is the Bacino Imbrifero Montano Del Tronto, which has also expressed its willingness to co-finance the project with additional resources of its own and which will also take care of coordination, in synergy with the Unione Montana dei Monti Azzurri, the municipalities involved, the local producers of the Made in Piceno network, the area's cultural and social associations, accommodation facilities and tourism organisations.

The BIM Tronto (which is one of the 64 BIM Consortia in Italy), established by law 959/1953, comprises 17 municipalities in the Marche region and is committed to policies aimed at fostering the economic and social progress of the people living in the area, supporting tourism and the local economy, encouraging local craft production, creating and setting up territorial supply chains, taking care of the qualification and specialisation of the local workforce and enhancing activities in favour of the neediest social categories. The other important aspect is that the BIM acts in the earthquake area, with the entire mountainous part prevailing.

The vision of the BIM project is to create and develop a network of experiential routes with a single, integrated approach aimed at promoting healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle, starting with kindergartens, and creating links between products and to territories, culture, traditions and historical memory. Each stage will feature meetings with producers, guided tastings, sensory workshops, excursions, moments of meditation surrounded by nature, artistic workshops and cultural performances. The idea is to include some already tried and tested events such as "Travertino Divino", the Spring Festival in Comunanza, the celebration of Saint Theopista (patron saint of the harvest and the countryside), distillation workshops on green aniseed, truffle and chestnut harvesting experiences, trekking in chestnut groves and saffron fields.