Regenerating with culture: practices and alliances between territories

21 marzo 2026 | ore 10:00 – 13:00 – Teatro del Popolo, Colle val d’Elsa (SI)

Urban regeneration as a cultural process capable of transforming spaces, strengthening communities, and generating new local economies. This is the central theme of the conference “Regenerating with Culture: Practices and Alliances between Territories,” promoted by INU Toscana (National Institute of Urban Planning) with the patronage of the Order of Architects, Planners, Landscape Architects, and Conservationists of the Province of Siena. The conference will take place on Saturday, March 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., at the Teatro del Popolo in Colle di Val d’Elsa. The conference is part of the initiatives organized as part of Colle di Val d’Elsa’s candidacy for Italian Capital of Culture 2028. The conference will compare significant experiences developed in Tuscany, with the aim of identifying effective governance practices, models of collaboration between cultural institutions and operators, and tools capable of making culture a stable lever for territorial development.

The agenda. The meeting will open at 9:45 a.m. with official greetings from the Mayor of Colle di Val d’Elsa, Piero Pii; the Councilor for Cultural Welfare, Daniele Tozzi; the Councilor for Tourism and Commerce, Carlotta Lettieri; and the Councilor for Culture of the Tuscany Region, Cristina Manetti. This will be followed by an introductory speech by Chiara Agnoletti, Vice President of INU Tuscany and IRPET researcher.

Best practices in Tuscany. The discussion will then enter the fray with a session dedicated to testimonials, moderated by Paolo Pinarelli, director of INU Tuscany. The first experience presented will be that of Colle di Val d’Elsa, with an in-depth look at the relationship between culture, the historic center, and the revitalization of urban spaces through presentations by Iuri Bruni, director of institutional affairs for the Municipality of Colle di Val d’Elsa; Paolo Cottino of Kcity; and Sara Naldoni of Urban Life. This will be followed by the case of Livorno, with the Hangar Creativi project, a cultural and creative hub, presented by Silvia Viviani, councilor for urban planning for the Municipality of Livorno, along with Camilla Cerrina Feroni and Luigi Pingitore of the Municipality of Livorno. The final presentation will be dedicated to Castelfiorentino and the Hangar Montecatini project, an example of the cultural valorization of an important industrial archaeology complex. Speakers will include Mayor Francesca Giannì, Giuseppe De Luca, and Simona Ciubini of the Department of Architecture at the University of Florence (DIDA), along with Irene Matteini and Elisabetta Margiotta Nervi of the Pier Luigi Nervi Foundation. The morning’s closing remarks, scheduled for around 12:45 pm, will be delivered by Paolo Pinarelli, director of INU Tuscany.

Ufficio Cultura del Comune di Colle Val d’Elsa: cultura@comune.collevaldelsa.it