The dilemma of the electronic village

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Trevor Chapman, London. Ole Wiig, Oslo. Jim Cooper, The Haague. Beads of nordic sweat on the forehead of the “bacchiatori” of the olives: how does one translate “bacchiare” into English? “We don't know”. We don't even know if there are olive trees in England. In Norway. In Holland.

Colletta di Castelbianco is celebrating the olive harvest in the first electronic village in Europe, fibre optic cables and satellite dishes combined with the medieval: walls of stone, windowsills of slate, vaulted ceilings, mule trails, cast iron ... And not a single chimney, because here everything runs on electricity.

The owners of the 60 restored apartments, enhanced with telematics, have come here from the 4 corners of the world to participate in the festival of the olive harvest in this corner of the savonese Alps. 12 km from Albenga. 7km from the border with the province of Cuneo.

An ancient village (800 years old), rejuvenated by progress and inhabited by the elite, the dream and project of the architect Giancarlo de Carlo. The residents, or rather the owners, are all professionals. Engineer Jim Cooper, information consultant Trevor Chapman, architect Ole Wiig. Abroad 6 months of the year, the office in Oslo, London or The Hague, the home – the real one – here.

The major of Castelbianco, Marino Fenocchio is moved: “ it is a wonderful sign that everyone has come back to Colletta for the olive harvest festival”. But its not only the ritual of the pressing this year. This year, they have to decide if the village wants to grow or not: whether to construct a conference centre with pool, hidden between the terraces of olive trees, or to strictly maintain the peace and tranquility.

In Colletta, the mayor counts only up to a certain point, as the community is organized as a condominium. The inhabitants have the status of tenants, there is an administrator, every 12 months they hold a condominium meeting. You want to change the shutters? Ask the administrator. You want more street lighting? It's the condominium. Imagine constructing a conference centre.

The condominium meeting took place yesterday and the matter confronted, for the first time, officially. Already, underneath the olive trees, they're not talking about anything else. The counting of the fors and againsts has continued afterwards, in the Telecafe over a glass of local wine and at the internet access points.

Josephine Peters from Sussex, interior designer, married with 2 grown children: “I come here because you can work whilst you enjoy the natural environment. The green forests, the stones of the houses. The mushrooms. I used to go hunting, but it has become discredited, they've even banned the fox. But this conference centre. That will be the end.”

Giampietro Mauri, from Como, retired tax consultant: “I am in favour of it. The village was deserted, we have reconstructed it: but what of the future? Either we do something or it will become a holiday home place.”

Catherine Lerche, norwegian architect, is against it. In favour of it is Massimo Vindrola, full time resident, as well as being the manager of the Tele Caffe, he has a small son and is the “procaccia” of the village.

A village with and two souls. The condominium administrator is Vincenzo Ricotta, and he represents the developer, Colletta di Castelbianco SRL, composed of the Riccadonna family (spumante), Guala (carpets) and other industrialists from Piedmonte. “Thinking as businessmen, our work is finished. We have restored the village. Sold the apartments. Either we can do something more, or go elsewhere”.

Will this be done at the cost of spoiling Colletta, betraying the spirit of the restoration? “Absolutely not: we want the inhabitants to be in agreement and invest along with us”. 25,000 EU per family, more or less, not a lot for those who have paid 2000EU per sq meter for their apartments. But there are 2 philosophies here: and the battle is shaping up as hard. Ole Wiig: “We must answer one question: why did we do all this?” All this, which is that every stone has been replaced where it was before the earthquake and abandonment in the 50s. Technology in the service of quality of life, with telework and no polluting gas (even the kitchens of the restaurant are electric). A pool excavated from the rock. Broadband internet.

200 inhabitants in summer and 20 in winter, Colletta must choose to either remain a weekend holiday location, or become a year-round village. Whether to grow in a hurry with the conference centre, or to honour the tempo of the olive trees.

Paolo Crecchi
4 December 2004

PS. Having read Paolo Crecchi's article on the Colletta website, Jo Peters was amused to see that the Fox has been banned! In fact, anyone reading the British Press will know that the Fox survives, it is hunting the fox in England that has been banned! Jo would particularly like to point out, however, that her views regarding the Conference Centre were also misreported. She, in fact, said that she did not mind whether a Conference Centre was built or not as Colletta was beautiful in any event.