Two ski resorts for the Oltresommo
Few people know or almost no one remembers, many years have passed but we like to remember and share through the letters of the time, the time when our grandfather Ezio had started the procedures for the construction of two ski resorts in the Ortesino area, where his cousin had recently built the namesake Albergo Ortesino, still active with an excellent pizzeria that we highly recommend to readers.
These two facilities and their slopes were named Sebastian and Sayonara, they were located roughly in the same area where the Ortesino chairlift is located today and, according to the promoters, they would have been useful to the entire Oltresommo after the unfortunate closure of the Carbonare chairlift and its splendid slope.
In addition to the actors involved, few people have read the documents that follow and which are evidence of what happened.
"Application for the exclusive concession of municipal land for the construction of winter sports facilities"
The favorable beginnings - 1975
The beginnings were really promising, the application for concession of the land was successful, the Sayonara plant and track was granted but the Sebastian track was rejected, so as not to damage the landscape. Ezio's foresight was clear, the area could have been developed a good forty years in advance.
"Favourable opinion on the Sayonara track and facility"
"Opinion against track and facility Sebastian"
After receiving favorable opinions from the PAT, Ezio filed the request to proceed with the construction of the facility and the ski slope, it was the end of 1975 and everything seemed to be going as planned
Everything was going well - 1976
In May, a further approval was given by the PAT with a modification to the arrival area of the station
Following the unanimous favorable opinion given in the city council meeting on September 15, the use of the land where the ski facility and slope would be built was granted. It is worth noting the absence from the council of Remo Cappelletti who, as president of Carosello Ski, would go on to build the Ortesino chairlift thirty years later, which is still in operation today.
Suddenly the first problems - 1976
The dense correspondence continued and the city council had unanimously decided to grant the land but, all of a sudden, a sudden stop. It was December 1976. Our grandfather, stubborn, wrote a letter to the PAT trying to explain the reasons and the possibilities of development of the area in favor of "the oltresommo", where he was born and underlining the bad faith procrastination of the institutions.
Frustration becomes evident - 1977
A letter dated January 25, 1977 communicates that the authorization will not be issued despite the previous positive opinions
A subsequent registered letter dated January 27, 1977, shows how the projects were made to disappear. The assessor in charge writes to Ezio that he would like to "find out where the projects and the application for the concession have ended up".
The absence of the authorizations was starting to annoy the "sambastianoti" who, with Ezio as the leader, continued to incessantly ask for explanations for the sudden about-face. It is clear that the reasons were vague, moreover the area already had a landfill of inert materials inside.
A fiery letter written by our grandfather and signed by many other villagers of S. Sebastiano, raises the stakes by directly calling into question those who had created this obstructionism. It is now clear that the denial had political and personal interests hidden behind an unlikely landscape disturbance.
Having started a direct clash between the people of Sambastia and Folgarai did not help, indeed it probably worsened the situation so much that any further request was denied.
Indeed, some people advanced suspicions that they were front men for Milanese entrepreneurs, rumors so insistent that they had to be denied in writing with a letter to the municipality.
Our grandfather Ezio continued undaunted with the appeals, always obtaining results negative.
A further denial in May, again in 1977
Finally, on September 21, the extract of the minutes of the Chamber of Deputies meeting held on August 29, 1977 is communicated and attached in copy, where they justify the denial for hydrogeological reasons.
The End
This story, unknown to most, makes one reflect on how personal interests can get in the way of the collective good, even of an entire fraction. When we talk about community, an often abused term, we do so on public occasions to raise awareness among the population of a union that often does not materialize. Many projects, even far-sighted ones, are denied even today in favor of remunerative proposals for a few individuals. Some enlightened people, such as accountant Alberto Rella, who together with others have created and brought Folgaria to be what it was, have left a legacy that unfortunately does not seem to have been collected with the same stimulus, ability and awareness.
The future challenges of those who will administer this territory, which is second to none in terms of beauty, will be the protection of the environment, work and dignity of those who live there and who, for many generations, have made it prosper and improve, avoiding selling it off for immediate profit.
Only in this way will the new generations be encouraged to undertake new activities in their territory, avoiding depopulation and enriching it further.