Italy's PD to Host Mountain Festival in Town Excluded from Benefits, Backs Mayor's Protest

Urbino, a town in Italy's Marche region, will be the unlikely host of the Democratic Party's (PD) first national festival focused on mountains and inland areas. The event, scheduled from July 30 to August 3, will feature top party leaders, including Secretary Elly Schlein and Deputy Stefano Bonaccini.

“

With the new classification, about 630 municipalities across Italy are no longer considered mountainous. Among them is Urbino.

The choice of Urbino as the venue is significant because the town has become a symbol of communities excluded from the government's recent reform of mountainous municipalities. The reform, championed by the League party and Minister Roberto Calderoli, aimed to redistribute resources in sectors like healthcare, education, and agriculture. However, it has resulted in approximately 630 Italian municipalities losing their "mountain" status and associated benefits.

Lorenzo Ugolini, the 22-year-old PD secretary for Urbino, expressed concerns about the reform's impact. He stated that the exclusion would lead to significant economic and fiscal damage, hindering efforts to retain residents and attract new businesses and inhabitants to inland areas. Furthermore, the reform could force some schools to close due to the loss of provisions for multi-grade classrooms, requiring students to travel longer distances to attend school.

“

We foresee significant damage for several territories that, with this reform, will not receive fiscal and economic benefits. There will be no incentive to keep those born in the internal areas there or to attract new inhabitants and businesses. And the derogations for composing multi-grade classes in schools will be lost: some will have to close for not having enough children.

Urbino's center-right mayor, Maurizio Gambini, has been a vocal opponent of the new classification. He led a protest in Rome in May and even dismissed a local League councilor for inaction on the issue. Despite political differences, Gambini finds an ally in the PD, which is now seizing the opportunity to champion the cause of these excluded communities.

“

Now it suits the PD to take ownership of the issue, but when it could have done something concrete, it didn't. The president of Anci Gaetano Manfredi...