Places of the Heart: over 2.3 million votes for the census promoted by Fati and Intesa Sanpaolo

The 12th census of “I Luoghi del Cuore” , dedicated to the care and promotion of the most beloved Italian places, closes with 2,316,984 votes collected , an extraordinary expression of active involvement and social cohesion ; the confirmation that the program, promoted by FAI-Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano and Intesa Sanpaolo , represents the most important and effective tool for direct participation of citizens in the protection of the country's heritage . The participation of individuals was in fact accompanied by that of communities: 196 registered throughout Italy , in the form of associations and spontaneous committees, but also Municipalities and Parishes. Groups rooted in the territories, who chose the FAI census to express their attachment to the places, together with the urgency of protecting and promoting them , thus recognizing their identity value. In this edition , 221 places – never so many – have exceeded the minimum threshold of 2,500 votes that guarantees the possibility of participating in the Call, open from today to September 11 , to support restoration and cultural enhancement projects. Never before have so many places exceeded 10,000 votes , which are located in 13 different regions : record numbers , never reached before.

The winner of the 2024 edition of the census with 72,050 votes is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace in Nizza Monferrato (AT), a province on the top step of the podium for the first time: a place closely linked to the figure of Don Bosco, who purchased it in 1877, saving it from abandonment. The votes were collected not only in the territory, but also in Salesian schools in various countries of the world, from India to Colombia, from the Philippines to Mexico, in the name of the topicality and importance of the educational legacy of the founder . In second place is the Ancient Fountain of Gallipoli , 62,967 reports , one of the cultural emblems of the city, for which numerous local entities have joined together. In third place was the Church of San Giorgio in the village of Tellaro , a hamlet of Lerici (SP) where the small but tenacious community mobilized and united to protect its cultural heritage, managing to collect 47,012 votes (complete ranking on www.iluoghidelcuore.it ).

The strength of “I Luoghi del Cuore ” – an unprecedented journey through Italy made up of provinces, villages, churches, and natural places that tell the story of the variety and identity of our country – lies in its ability to trigger a decisive development of social policies and local economies, putting little-known or long-neglected places under the spotlight, contributing to their cultural and touristic enhancement and bringing innovation and new knowledge. But the program is also a means to intervene directly in the recovery of some of the places voted for. From this year, the contributions made available to support the projects will increase to 700,000 euros , or 300,000 euros more than in previous editions. The three national winners will be entitled to 70,000, 60,000 and 50,000 euros , respectively, upon presentation to the FAI of concrete restoration or cultural enhancement projects. Even places that did not win, but reached the minimum threshold of 2,500 votes , will be able to aspire to the contribution - which increases to 50,000 euros - by submitting a project to the Call. The projects will be evaluated according to new criteria , developed on the basis of the results of the evaluation of the impact of "I Luoghi del Cuore" carried out in 2024 by the Santagata Foundation for the Economy of Culture , with the aim of generating long-term positive cultural, economic, social and environmental impacts and favoring the internal areas of the country , where finding resources is more difficult and the support of "I Luoghi del Cuore" can give rise to a real cultural welfare.

“The Places of the Heart of FAI and Intesa Sanpaolo surprise again, recognizing an intangible asset as the winner of the sensational 2024 edition. The extraordinary and ever-present educational and civil message of Don Giovanni Bosco is in fact at the center of the victory of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Grace in Nizza Monferrato, which won the podium of the most popular and beloved Italian census dedicated to Italian cultural and naturalistic heritage. The high, noble and very current teaching of Saint John Bosco, founder of the Congregation of the Salesians and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and father of the modern oratory, and his vigorous and surprising social activity in support of disadvantaged young people are embodied in the Sanctuary of Nizza Monferrato, which he purchased and resurrected from abandonment to make it the mother house of his order.

We want to dedicate this twelfth census of I Luoghi del Cuore to his example as a tireless and civil educator, not without underlining how education in the knowledge and defense of heritage is the exclusive purpose of the FAI mission,” declared Marco Magnifico , President of the FAI.

"An important milestone of over 20 years confirms the validity of 'I Luoghi del Cuore', an identity project that has now become part of our country's tradition: an appointment with the protection of the heritage linked to the Italian territories, a collective and unifying experience. The support of Intesa Sanpaolo, which has continued since 2004, is a concrete commitment to the protection of naturalistic, architectural and artistic assets, but above all it is a recognition of the extraordinary ability of the FAI to involve and direct citizens towards virtuous objectives. Today we are celebrating together a new stage with greatly growing results", comments Gian Maria Gros-Pietro, President of Intesa Sanpaolo.

The record numbers of the 12th census denote the solidity of the twenty-year FAI program , as also demonstrated by the 163 projects supported so far throughout Italy , and tell how the current concept of heritage includes an intangible dimension, that of people and their identity linked to cultural and landscape heritage . A concept that is a fundamental part of the FAI mission and that is realized in the work of care and enhancement of the Assets throughout Italy. The “Places of the Heart” program is one of the main activities of the Foundation aimed at giving voice to the heritage wrongly considered minor, rich in intangible values, and bringing it to light: an emblem of this is the winner of the 2024 edition, the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora delle Grazie , a symbolic place of education, capable of bringing together and enthusing people from one continent to another thanks to the universal scope of the values ​​it represents.

Many other community stories can be found scrolling through the ranking (further information on the first ten “places of the heart” in the attached document): in fourth place with 42,190 votes is the Santa Croce di Campese Complex in Bassano del Grappa (VI) , the former monastery near the Brenta Canal that celebrated its 900th anniversary, reported in the census with the aim of recovering ancient historical testimonies, kept in the archive, and finally making them available for consultation. In fifth place with 35,862 votes is the Hermitage of Santa Rosalia alla Quisquina in Santo Stefano Quisquina (AG) , a much-loved place of local devotion, one of the many assets representing the most internal and marginal areas of the country, to which “Places of the Heart”, as a tool for innovation and social cohesion , offers the possibility of redemption.

The votes in favor of the sixth place , the Cava Ispica Regional Park in Modica (RG), one of the largest naturalistic-archaeological complexes in Sicily, which collected 32,154 votes , and the seventh , Leonardo da Vinci's Ferry in Imbersago (LC) , for which the mobilization, which obtained 31,490 votes , started from the Mayor himself who took the qualification to make this only functioning example in the world sail on the Adda again, were driven by the will to "live" the heritage, making it more accessible. Eighth place with 28,792 votes for the Lagopesole Castle in Avigliano (PZ) , in the Lucanian hinterland, for which it is hoped the expansion of the visit route and a growing valorization. Ninth in the ranking is the Church of San Giacomo della Vittoria in Alessandria with 26,748 votes , already third in the 2022 census and again reported with the aim of continuing the complex restoration work, while in tenth place with 24,839 votes is the Valle dei Mulini in Gragnano (NA), an ancient testimony to the local processing of flour and pasta, to be preserved with its stories of tradition and ingenuity.

Again, among the most voted “places of the heart”, there are numerous places of nature , be they urban parks – three in the Capital – or areas where the environment hosts evidence of ancient or pre-industrial archaeology. And also castles – like the one in Feltre (BL), around which the community has gathered – entire villages , palaces and houses that have long been uninhabited , places of worship with important artistic heritage – like the Church of San Giorgio in Lemine in Almenno San Bartolomeo (BG) or the Church of San Giovanni Fuorcivitas in Pistoia – or unusual assets , like the Mangiabarche Lighthouse in Calasetta (SU), among the most iconic of its kind and corroded by the salty air. There is no shortage of places hit by natural disasters , such as the small church damaged by a tornado in Cervia (RA), or the historic center of Concordia sulla Secchia (MO), still waiting for full recovery after the 2012 earthquake, or the Rovigo River in Palazzuolo sul Senio (FI), which collected eleven thousand votes in a handful of days, following the landslide caused by heavy rains that brought to light a landfill created in the Seventies along its banks.

Schools have played a leading role . As many as 530 institutes throughout Italy, including primary and secondary schools, to which are added 92 schools from other countries in the world, have collected over 350,000 reports , supporting vote collections in their territories or being voted for themselves because they needed interventions, from the national winner at the Collegio Emiliani in Genoa to the Accademia Militare della Nunziatella in Naples. Many young people have taken to the field for their "places of the heart" , such as for the Valle dei mulini in Amato, in the province of Catanzaro, which thanks to the initiative of a university student has already been partially redeveloped and participated in the census to be further enhanced.

The twelfth edition of “I Luoghi del Cuore” has consolidated its success, exceeding 2 million votes cast. This census has established itself over time as a driving force for participation and civic engagement . The implementation of a new voting platform , made possible by significant technological development, has optimized the fluidity of the process and guaranteed a high standard of vote control.

Since 2004, Intesa Sanpaolo has supported FAI in this initiative to protect and enhance the artistic and natural beauty of the country, an area in which the Group is directly involved. Added to this is the widespread diffusion throughout Italy that supports the Bank's well-distributed presence in all Italian regions.