BiodiversA
BiodiversA is the newsletter of Viso A Viso. It was born in spring 2025, after five years of activity by the community cooperative, to share who we are, what we do, and why.
It is called BiodiversA to highlight the environment in which we operate, the Monviso Transboundary MAB UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, characterized by a great variety of living species, rich in life and biological diversity. But BiodiversA is also a wish for cultural biodiversity and inclusivity, which we strive to build every day.
The “A” of Viso A Viso, which concludes “BiodiversA,” represents the mountain that majestically shapes our horizon, a letter that marks a beginning, feminine singular.
Past | Present | Near Future | in BAO – Open Library of Ostana | Biodiverse Adventures | Something Good | In the Upper Po Valley
Spring saw Viso A Viso engaged in two training initiatives focused on cultural planning and inclusion.
The first was the workshop “Cultural Planning: Basic Tools and Methods” as part of the TRAME project: Libraries, civic spaces, and new generations. The program explored strategic vision and helped develop foundational skills for cultural planning, understood as a driver of social and community development. The course took place at BAO – Open Library of Ostana and concluded at the Lidia Beccaria Rolfi Civic Library in Saluzzo, reflecting the territorial focus of the initiative, starting from civic and public hubs and their essential role as community cultural infrastructure.
The second initiative, the training course “Disability and Museum Inclusion in Mountain Environments”, was led by Francesca Bruno Franco, Matteo Robasto, and Marco Tealdo for COESA, within the Lou Lindal project, Ostana’s ecomuseum under development. Participants included tourism operators, cooperators, municipal councilors, environmental hiking guides, and CAI volunteers.
Topics covered included the words we use, the meaning of terms, language that positively influences thinking, understanding disability as one of many possible life conditions, prejudice, the history and current services for people with disabilities at regional and national levels, different types of disabilities to accommodate, social inclusion—particularly in mountain environments—and best practices for welcoming visitors, from planning to execution.
On Friday, May 30, we celebrated the fifth anniversary of Viso A Viso with the enthusiastic participation of friends—thank you from the heart!
On Saturday, May 10, 2025, as part of the Walking Mountains Social Walks organized by the Museo della Montagna in Turin, Claudia Losi’s“Il viaggio dei sottili”came to life, with the participation of Sara Bertolucci: a nocturnal, poetic, interspecies procession through the woods of Monte dei Cappuccini. The performance, born from Claudia’s residency at Ostana with Viso A Viso, weaves voice, song, and shadows to explore the transition from day to night and from an anthropocentric to a biocentric perspective.
We look forward to “Il viaggio dei sottili” in the forests of Ostana at the beginning of autumn. Updates will be shared soon on our social media and website.
As of Saturday, May 3, Viso A Viso is officially a 2025 Green Flag (Bandiera Verde) recipient from Legambiente, recognized “for the courage to run a social enterprise, combining the ability to manage an important public building heritage with the need to be a place of transformation, creating new economic opportunities in the territory.”
Past | Present | Near Future | in BAO – Open Library of Ostana | Biodiverse Adventures | Something Good | In the Upper Po Valley
Tired of the city heat? Come work in the mountains!
This summer 2025, our mountain Coworking awaits you with cool spaces, surrounded by the forests of Ostana, to recharge your mind and creativity. It is located at Lou Pourtoun, within the spaces of BAO - Biblioteca Aperta di Ostana.
Away from the chaos and high temperatures, you can focus better and enjoy refreshing breaks in nature. While many European cities are starting to map climate refuges, let’s remember that the Alps are a natural climate refuge.
Book your space and turn your summer into a productive and relaxing experience! You can also stay overnight in the Foresteria, right next to the coworking. Prices and offers here.
At the Scuola estiva di “O” in Ostana, joy for both young and old, open in June, July, and August, for children from 12 months to 12 years, this year we explore the world of bees, metamorphosis, and our role as humans within ecosystems.
For summer 2025, Viso A Viso offers a series of experiences and nature walks to discover the Parco del Monviso, both in Valle Po and Valle Varaita. Find all the proposals on our website.
We also highlight this scholarship, an important opportunity provided by the Monviso Institute: Scholarship to study the MAS ETH in Regenerative Systems: CAS Sustainability to Regeneration in the Italian Upper Po River Valley bioregion – ETH Zurich, Systemic Design Labs.
Past | Present | Near Future | in BAO – Open Library of Ostana | Biodiverse Adventures | Something Good | In the Upper Po Valley
From November 6 to 8, 2025, ConversAzioni#4 returns to Ostana.
The 2025 festival is titled: “Beyond Inclusion. Towards a New Civil Vocabulary for Living in Italy” and will take place from November 6 to 8 in Ostana.
The festival will continue to focus on the strategic role of businesses and institutions capable of generating social and economic transformations. The program will be enriched by the testimonies of people from Italy and other countries sharing their experiences with community cooperatives. A new feature of ConversAzioni#4 will be the Post-Festival, taking place from the afternoon of Saturday, November 8, to the afternoon of Sunday, November 9. This will be an opportunity for participants to explore the territory, learn its history, and stimulate the generation of new ideas.
Past | Present | Near Future | in BAO – Open Library of Ostana | Biodiverse Adventures | Something Good | In the Upper Po Valley
At BAO among many books, you can find The Nutmeg’s Curse by Amitav Ghosh, who was an artist in residence in Ostana in 2023.
The Earth is not a resource depot. It is home.
Amitav Ghosh powerfully reminds us that as long as we continue to see nature as something to conquer or exploit, we will keep pushing toward environmental collapse.
"As long as we treat the earth and its resources as independent of all the living beings who inhabit it, we will only accelerate total destruction."
This is a powerful reflection urging us to shift our perspective: to abandon the idea of human superiority and embrace a biocentric vision, rooted in relationships, imagination, and respect.
To face the climate crisis, Ghosh tells us, we also need to rewrite our stories and make space for new narratives that help us recognize interconnection.
Past | Present | Near Future | in BAO – Open Library of Ostana | Biodiverse Adventures | Something Good | In the Upper Po Valley
Since July 2024, we have been managing the E-bike rental service at the Porta di Valle in Paesana, with the belief that cycle tourism today represents an ideal way to travel for slow, non-extractive tourism that combines sport with cultural and educational experiences.
Cycle tourism is a constantly growing sector. In Italy, in 2024, there was a 54% increase compared to 2023 (!) and it now accounts for 10% of total tourism in Italy. In Europe, along the Eurovelo routes, the presence of cycle tourists increased by 10.3% between 2019 and 2024. It is therefore clear how this way of traveling has become key to the economic regeneration of tourist-oriented territories.
For those of us operating in the valleys of Monviso (Po and Varaita), this is exactly the kind of tourism we prefer: travelers who are curious, who enjoy being outdoors even when it’s a bit cold, and when the sun doesn’t always shine.
In this adventure, we have chosen to embrace the support and expertise of Bike Square, a group of young people, a company, and an integrated rental and logistics platform based in Langa, which is ambitiously building a national network of affiliated operators.
Thanks to the reactivation of the Savigliano / Saluzzo railway line, we can also offer the possibility to reach the valley by train + bike, promoting intermodality as a valid alternative to private motorized transport. Arriving by train in Saluzzo, the gateway to the Monviso Valleys, you can rent an e-bike to explore and travel through our territories without using a motor vehicle.
Finally, to further experiment with alternative mobility, we have joined the Bonus Mobilità project, promoted by Moeves, funded by the Piedmont Region and the Agenzia Mobilità Piemontese, and promoted by the consortia Grandabus (Cuneo), Coas (Asti), and Scat (Alessandria). The initiative provides vouchers to all holders of public transport subscriptions issued by the three consortia in the provinces mentioned. The vouchers can be used for various partner services, all related to alternative mobility: from bike and e-bike rentals to cars, taxis, and other shared mobility services.
At our E-bike rental in Paesana, you can use and convert your subscription to receive a mobility voucher and take an e-bike for a day immersed in nature.
Past | Present | Near Future | in BAO – Open Library of Ostana | Biodiverse Adventures | Something Good | In the Upper Po Valley
At the Merenderia Alpina at Lou Pourtoun in Ostana, this summer you can enjoy the mountain-style shaken iced coffee. After a beautiful walk on a sunny summer day, nothing refreshes and invigorates like a shaken iced coffee enhanced with the “fruits” of our mountains: honey, which helps create a thick, fluffy foam, and gentian from Miretto, which perfectly complements the aroma of the coffee.
With the arrival of summer comes the desire for light, fresh, and flavorful dishes. The panzanella, a classic recipe from the Tuscan peasant tradition, is the perfect answer: a colorful mix of soaked stale bread, ripe tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, fresh basil, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. A simple yet surprisingly tasty dish, ideal for an outdoor lunch or a quick dinner, highlighting the authentic flavors of summer. Excellent when prepared in advance, served cold, and even better after resting: perfect for those seeking taste without sacrificing convenience. Try it in the classic version or enriched with olives, capers, or tuna. Summer has never been so delicious!
You can find the Panzanella at Segnavia - Porta di Valle in Brossasco.
Past | Present | Near Future | in BAO – Open Library of Ostana | Biodiverse Adventures | Something Good | In the Upper Po Valley
On the Alta Valle Po Calendar, you can find all the experiences available in the upper valley throughout the year. The calendar was created from the ground up as the result of dialogue among various local stakeholders and is built and managed in a participatory way by different organizations, businesses, and associations of the Valle Po. To learn how to contribute to the Calendar and add your own events, you can write to: programmazione@visoaviso.it
The “O” Summer School
An educational space for children from 12 months to 12 years old, open in June, July, and August.
Designed for the young families of the valley.
Team building in nature
Nature-based team building offers a unique experience to develop cohesion, trust, and collaboration.