Casto, il paese del sole. Tradizione, energie rinnovabili e sostenibilità in un paese di montagna nel nord Italia

Abstract

A tacit collaboration pact between public and private operators, including volunteer organizations, for the exploitation of renewable energies in a territory with a historically rooted industrial vocation has generated a “case” of virtuous development with important advantages for the local community. This paper aims to investigate the development of Casto – a little northern Italian village in the Brescia Prealps – in the last twenty years. Since the Nineties, Raffmetal, a leading European aluminum alloys producer based in the village, has developed environmental sustainability projects collaborating with local, national and European authorities. The municipality, for its part, has achieved energy self-sufficiency building a dozen photovoltaic plants. The increase in the budget revenues, the fruitful collaboration with the company and the involvement of numerous volunteers have allowed the local administration to implement free services for the population in different fields: education, sports, recreation and environment.