The European project “THETRIS” Thematic Transnational Church Route development with the Involvement of local Society, within the IV Call of the European Territorial Cooperation Program “Central Europe", involves a European partnership of 8 countries (Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary) and 11 regions involved.
The Province of Turin (Project Partner) has nominated the Susa Valley as its region of interest. Within the macro activity 4, concerning the possibility of experimenting with innovative solutions for the preservation of cultural heritage in the central European area, the theme assigned to the Province of Turin was the implementation of a pilot action of creation of a model for the revitalization of Novalesa Abbey and its relationship with the surrounding inhabited area that could be transferable and adaptable to other European realities.
The entities involved in the working group of the Province of Turin were: Municipality of Novalesa, Diocesan Cultural Museum, Benedictine Community, Polytechnic University of Turin (DIPRADI).
An innovative project of “redevelopment and enhancement of the tourism-cultural value of the historic center of Novalesa” has been developed, through which it is intended to rediscover and highlight the points of historical and architectural interest in the town, capable of making evident the way of living and working in an Alpine village.
The THETRIS project aims to identify methodologies and tools for the development of rural areas, based on the existing potential of the territory (religious buildings), which can be transferred to similar territorial realities not belonging to the THETRIS project partnership.
The objective of the project is the sustainable conservation of local churches, monuments, and sacred buildings in the 11 partner regions through the development of transnational religious routes, elaborating common strategies, and experimenting with innovative solutions.
The primary objectives of the working group on Novalesa are the economic and social revitalization and the "reinvention of the place" through the involvement and active participation of the population. Archival research has made it possible to reconstruct, using written documents and images, how the appearance of the village has changed over the past 400 years. The perspective is therefore twofold: on one hand, there is the recovery of their own memory by the residents, and on the other hand, the aim is to make this territory known and appreciated by other people.
At the local level, the project was articulated in:
Involvement and participation of the local population to develop awareness of the value of historical heritage, thus stimulating a sense of community belonging;
Development and enhancement for tourism purposes of the Novalesa Abbey (also diversifying tourist flows);
Exploitation of the attractiveness of the Abbey (beacon asset), to promote the development of a sustainable historical-cultural tourism model, based mainly on religious tourism and excursions, spread over the territory and involving the historic center;
Social integration and involvement of operators (entrepreneurs, tourist guides, craftsmen, etc.).
