Village people: A gelato-maker’s mission to resuscitate a declining Cocconato
After discovering that his childhood village in Piedmont was dwindling, entrepreneur Alberto Marchetti embarked on a venture to revive the community, one shop at a time.
Alberto Marchetti is sitting outside Osteria Bell’e Buona in Cocconato, a village in Piedmont, northern Italy, chatting to a farmer. A woman sitting on a bench nearby waves to our lunch party. “She’s a local councillor,” says Marchetti, smiling. It would be an understatement to say that he is well known in Cocconato, which has a population of about 1,400. Though he lives and runs a gelateria in Turin, about an hour’s drive away, he can often be found in this village. It was a big part of his childhood. His grandparents owned a farmhouse not far from here, while his uncle ran an ice-cream shop in town.
But when he grew up, work and life got in the way and almost three decades passed before he returned. The scene that greeted him was sombre. “The pizzeria was for sale,” he says. “There was less commerce than before, fewer young people, less bar life. Everything was closed.”
Marchetti didn’t want to accept the status quo. With Leo Longo and Fabio Digilio, he co-founded a company called Cocconato Bell’e Buono (meaning “Beautiful and Tasty Cocconato”), with the aim of giving the place a lift. Then they brought on board investors – Turin-based non-profit Fondazione CRT among them. Today, Marchetti’s team owns or rents several properties, including the osteria where Monocle is eating trout pasta, as well as a pizzeria, a salami shop, a bike shop and rentable apartments that are part of an albergo diffuso – a hotel with rooms spread throughout the village.
The team has also invested in retail. Several shopfronts along Via Roma, the medieval hamlet’s high street, have been revitalised. A ceramicist and a vintage sunglasses seller share a space, while Tamara Bocchi, who is originally from Tuscany and moved to the village a little over a year ago, runs a shop selling vintage pieces. For now, tenants’ rates are preferential as the team seeks to establish Cocconato as a destination.
Cocconato Bell’e Buono isn’t after quick gains. “This isn’t a short-term investment,” says Marchetti. “We’re not an innovative start-up. We need 20 years, with things perhaps stabilising after five years.”
Still, the village has come a long way. Marchetti says that they have created about 20 jobs, mostly for locals, and the osteria’s chefs had reason to return to the region. But there is still plenty to do. “Slowly, slowly,” he says. “It’s a work in progress.”
cocconatobellebuono.it
Three tips for embarking on a rural regeneration project
1.
Be patient: It can never just be about the bottom line. Revamping a small economy might take years or even decades. You need to match passion with patience.
2.
Be strategic: Work out what it is that’s missing from a rural destination to make it a more appealing place to visit or invest in.
3.
Start small but think big: Your efforts could become a blueprint for other municipalities to follow.
