Moncenisio is a municipality located at an altitude of 1,500 metres, not far from the French border. Just 35 people live there. Roccafiorita is the smallest municipality in Sicily. The municipalities of Moncenisio and Roccafiorita, which has 158 inhabitants, are 1,481 km apart, but they share one key factor: they have both received the same attention, the same treatment, from Poste Italiane, as their respective mayors recounted before their last meeting with the corporation: “Ours is a mountainous municipality, and Poste Italiane’s services allow us to overcome a condition that would otherwise be one of absolute marginality. Thanks to Poste, one can now experience the mountains without being isolated. Historically linked to the transits on the Via Francigena, Moncenisio has always been at the centre of historical events and undertakings: from Napoleon’s passage to the construction of the high-altitude entrenchments, from the construction of the Moncenisio dam to that of the Fell alpine railway.” On the other side of Italy, on the slopes of Mount Kalfa, in the heart of the Agrò Valley, the first citizen of Roccafiorita (or rather “Roccasciurta”, as they say in these parts) Orlando confirms: “In our municipality, Poste Italiane has installed its new ATM, architectural barriers have been removed and we can use free Wi-Fi. Most importantly, the post office has remained as an essential garrison and service for the population of Roccafiorita and neighbouring villages.”
Where there’s Poste, there’s a future
From the north to the south of Italy, the logic is the same: where there is Poste there is life and indeed there can be a future. It’s a logic derived from the company’s commitments to counter the erosion of the resident population in those municipalities of the province that also represent the soul of our nation. Take Monte Cavallo, for example, one of the smallest municipalities in the province of Macerata. In the town’s historic medieval centre, the parish bell tower and the remains of the tower stand out. Its mayor shares a thought echoed by many administrators: “In small towns like ours, Poste Italiane is a front-office of the state, with an employee that people know and who is always ready to talk to a predominantly elderly population.”
Promises kept
In some Piedmontese towns, the population increases tenfold during the summer, as witnessed by Guido Bellardo Gioli, mayor of Ribordone, 49 residents in the province of Turin: “Postal workers very often help elderly people who need services and technological know-how”. The 48 inhabitants, at least half of whom are over 70, of Torresina, where Poste has installed free Wi-Fi, are also served with dedication, as its mayor explains: “The Post Office employees are always very kind and helpful.” In Bergolo, 56 souls in the province of Cuneo, the service even has international scope. The smallest municipality in the Langhe was in fact among the first to realise the area’s tourism potential and equipped itself with modern accommodation and recreational facilities. It is also known as “the village of stone”, since all the houses have been renovated using sandstone and asphalt has been replaced by pavement. “Ours is a very small but very lively municipality,” explains the mayor, “because it hosts many students from the Erasmus programme. These interventions are crucial for the European youngsters staying here. We just couldn’t do without it and we have to thank Poste for keeping its promises.”
