Pact for the river renaissance of the Olona Valley / Patto per il rinascimento fluviale della Valle Olona

The contribution illustrates the project for the integrated enhancement of the cultural and environmental heritage of the Olona Valley, promoted by the Mills Park and the Ecomuseum of the Landscape of Parabiago, facilitators of an articulated network of actors, who propose a new approach to the management of the territory based on a real “river renaissance”. The heart of the project is the Olona River, which has long been transformed into an infrastructure for the disposal of wastewater from the valley. To reverse the process, local communities are experimenting with initiatives that put in place innovative forms of governance for the management of the environment and the river landscape: community maps, Pact for the Olona River, Pact for the care and enhancement of agro-ecosystems, and other cultural projects. The objective for the future is to create an integrated territorial plan of culture to recompose around the river a new widespread city based on a new balance between biotic and abiotic factors.