The Future is Nature project began in the summer of 2019, a few months after Francesco won the ReStartAlp start-up prize. In this second season too, which started off having to face the difficulties posed by the pandemic, the two boys from Piasco are still described as “collaborators”. However, Francesco is considering establishing a proper business next year, in which Fulvio and Lorenzo will be his partners. The project, indeed, is structured to become fully operational in the medium-long term: “We will need four or five years of work to put all the pieces together,” he explains.

The main “pieces”, to mention Francesco’s words, are hospitality and recreational activities, the two sectors Future is Nature can operate in over the area it is entitled to manage until 2031. The idea is to create events capable of combining these two kinds of activity. “The complex, which includes a restaurant and a camping area – was built in the early Nineties – explains Francesco – It is owned by the Municipality, which rented it to us with a contract of six + six years. When we got here, the camping area had been closed since 2011″.

We walk along the dirt road that leads from the entrance, where the receptionis, to the campsite. Francesco shows us the work done during the emergency, a suspended time that he used to renovate the area that houses the toilets, the showers, and the laundry. The property extends over two and a half hectares. There are some old caravans, which will soon be refurbished and turned into theme-accommodation. “It’s been raining nonstop for a week, which is why the grass is a little high,” explains Francesco smiling, as if justifying himself. The roads and trails too, inside the camping site, are overgrown, not easy to see. There is also a picnic area, with grills, tables, and concrete benches that the campsite guests can use; some caravans; the area available for those who come with their tents (a pitch for two people costs €15 per night, very affordable); and the area where camper vans can stay. There is also a small bar, made out of an old small fire station using recycled materials: “This also reflects our philosophy: 90% of what we are using to renovate the whole camping site has been recovered from the cellars or the attics. I find that searching for and using second-hand materials forces people to use a lot of extra mental energy,” says Francesco. For the moment, the bar is being used as a reception in the off-season, and to make breakfasts.