… is an exception. Although it has only a few hundred inhabitants, it refuses to die and be forgotten, which is the fate of a growing number of small towns on the Italian peninsula.
… is a blend of past, present and future. It has maintained a steadfast hold on centuries-old traditions, practices and values; yet it has welcomed modern conveniences (a motorway, a railway, high-speed Internet service), and has embraced the future by having a wind farm built on its mountains.
… is a refuge. It is a place where the air is clean, and where the hurry, stress, obligations and constraints of city life can be left behind. Here you can immerse yourself in nature, with its green summers and white winters, and you will be a short drive away from that vast wilderness park, the Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo.
… is a ritual. Once you have discovered it, you will return again and again. On May 1, the most important day of the year in Cocullo, it draws an average of 20,000 visitors (a record 50,000 in 2008). What brings them to Cocullo is the Festa di San Domenico, or Feast of San Domenico, an event of such deep religious and anthropological significance that it has been the subject of articles in The New York Times, Bild and other prestigious publications, has been covered by television crews from Japan, France, Germany and other countries, and has attracted the curiosity and participation of academics, pilgrims, students and journalists from all over the world. It is no accident that the Feast of San Domenico, with its procession of serpari, or snake catchers, is one of the religious festivals for which Italy is best known internationally.
… is a revelation. It will provide you with tangible, first-hand evidence of how human beings can live in harmony with nature.
… is a snapshot. It is like a black-and-white photograph of a quaint old village that is magically infused with life and colour in our own day.
… è un’eccezione. Con le sue poche centinaia di abitanti continua a resistere all’oblio e alla scomparsa, sorte che tocca un sempre maggior numero di piccoli paesi della nostra penisola. … è una sfumatura. Tra passato e futuro vive in un presente che sembra immobile, tra tradizioni, abitudini e antichi valori; ma senza rinunciare alle comodità odierne (autostrada, ferrovia e le più moderne e veloci connessioni internet) e guardando avanti, con il parco eolico di recente costruzione. … è un rifugio. Un’oasi incontaminata dallo smog, dalla frenesia e dallo stress, dagli obblighi e dalle costrizioni della vita di città. Una via di fuga immersa nella natura, verde d’estate e bianca d’inverno, alle porte del Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo. … è un rituale. Una scoperta che si rinnova e che si ripete anno dopo anno, che nel suo giorno più importante attira una media di 20.000 turisti, con una punta di 50.000 nell’anno 2008. Un evento di importanza religiosa e antropologica tale da essere testimoniata da articoli sul New York Times e sulla Bild, da servizi su televisioni giapponesi, francesi e tedesche, che in generale stimola la curiosità e la partecipazione di studiosi, fedeli, studenti e giornalisti di tutte le parti del mondo. Non a caso il rito di San Domenico Abate con la processione dei serpari è notoriamente uno degli avvenimenti a carattere religioso che più identificano l’Italia all’ estero. … è un’emozione. Un ricordo tangibile e reale della vita dell’uomo in simbiosi con la natura. … è un ritratto. Una foto in bianco e nero di un borgo antico e affascinante che prende vita e colore ai giorni nostri.
Licia Colò è una conduttrice televisiva, autrice televisiva e scrittrice italiana, nota al grande pubblico come la ex presentatrice del programma di viaggi Alle Falde del Kilimangiaro. La Colò è inoltre autrice di vari libri che raccontano di animali e delle sue esperienze in giro per il mondo.
Licia Colò is an Italian TV hostess and journalist. She has been working exclusively for RAI since 1996, hosting documentary-based shows Geo & Geo, King Kong and Il Pianeta delle Meraviglie. Starting in 2001, she has hosted Alle Falde del Kilimangiaro, dedicated to travel documentaries, on RAI 3. Colò has also written several books documenting her travel experiences.
1995 – Lina Wertmüller
Lina Wertmüller è una regista e sceneggiatrice italiana. È stata la prima donna candidata all’Oscar come migliore regista, per il film Pasqualino Settebellezze, nella cerimonia del 1977.
Lina Wertmüller is an Italian screenwriter and film director. She was the first woman nominated for an Academy Award for Directing for Seven Beauties. She is also known for her films The Seduction of Mimi, Love and Anarchy and Swept Away.
2006 – Elliott Erwitt
Elliott Erwitt è un fotografo statunitense specializzato in fotografia pubblicitaria e documentaria, noto per i suoi scatti in bianco e nero che ritraggono situazioni ironiche ed assurde di tutti i giorni. Seguì lo stile di Henri Cartier-Bresson, maestro nel cogliere l’attimo decisivo.
Elliott Erwitt is an American advertising and documentary photographer known for his black and white candid shots of ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings – a master of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s “decisive moment”.
2006 – Michael Montgomery
Michael Montgomery & Elliott Erwitt
Michael Montgomery è uno scrittore e giornalista inglese.
Michael Montgomery is an English writer and journalist.
2006 – Le Iene, Enrico Lucci
Le Iene è un programma televisivo di intrattenimento che va in onda su Italia 1 dal 1997. Versione italiana del programma televisivo argentino Caiga Quien Caiga; è caratterizzato da uno stile irriverente e si presenta come un approfondimento dell’attualità italiana e internazionale, realizzato attraverso reportage e provocazioni satiriche.
Le Iene is a television program broadcast on the Italian channel Italia 1. Beginning in 1997, it is a comedy/satirical show, with sketches and reports into political affairs and consumer issues. It is based on an Argentine show Caiga Quien Caiga.
2011 – Dacia Maraini
Dacia Maraini è una scrittrice, poetessa, saggista, drammaturga e sceneggiatrice italiana che fa parte della “generazione degli anni trenta”. Il suo lavoro si concentra sulle problematiche femminili e ha scritto numerosi drammi e romanzi. Ha vinto numerosi premi, tra cui il Premio Formentor per L’Età del Malessere (1963); il Premio Fregene per Isolina (1985); il Premio Campiello e il premio del Libro dell’Anno per La Lunga Vita di Marianna Ucrìa (1990); e il Premio Strega per Buio (1999). Nel 2013, il documentario sulla sua vita I Was Born Travelling ha raccontato la storia della sua prigionia in un campo di concentramento in Giappone, i leggendari viaggi in giro per il mondo con il suo compagno Alberto Moravia, il suo amico intimo Pier Paolo Pasolini e la cantante lirica Maria Callas.
Dacia Maraini is an Italian writer. Maraini’s work focuses on women’s issues, and she has written numerous plays and novels. She has won awards for her work, including the Formentor Prize for L’Età del Malessere (1963); the Premio Fregene for Isolina (1985); the Premio Campiello and Book of the Year Award for La Lunga Vita di Marianna Ucrìa (1990); and the Premio Strega for Buio (1999). In 2013, the documentary I Was Born Travelling about her life portrayed the story of her imprisonment in a concentration camp in Japan, to the legendary journeys around the world with her partner Alberto Moravia, her close friend Pier Paolo Pasolini and opera singer Maria Callas.
2015 – Nigel Marven
Nigel Marven è uno zoologo, conduttore televisivo e produttore televisivo britannico.
Nigel Marven is a British wildlife TV presenter, television producer, author and birdwatcher.
2016/2017 – Frank Cuesta
Francisco Javier Cuesta Ramos, meglio conosciuto come Frank Cuesta, è un ex tennista professionista, allenatore di tennis e presentatore televisivo spagnolo, che vive a Bangkok, Thailandia, da oltre 20 anni. Ha studiato medicina veterinaria e si è specializzato in erpetologia. Negli ultimi 15 anni ha combattuto il traffico illegale e l’abuso di animali nel sud-est asiatico. Nel 2012, infiltratosi come veterinario in Vietnam, ha mostrato al mondo le immagini drammatiche di come gli orsi venivano maltrattati quotidianamente, per ottenere la loro bile per le medicine alternative tradizionali e altri farmaci senza valore scientificamente provato. Questo rapporto ha quindi spinto il governo vietnamita a rilasciare una dichiarazione ufficiale in cui ha promesso di abolire queste attività. Dal 2010 al 2013, ha presentato il programma ‘Frank de la jungla’, trasmesso su Cuatro y Energy (entrambi di proprietà di Mediaset España), che ha ricevuto un Ondas Award l’8 novembre 2011. Ha anche presentato ‘La Selva en Casa’ e ‘Natural Frank’ sullo stesso canale. Nel marzo 2014 DMax (Spagna) ha annunciato Frank Cuesta, come presentatore del programma ‘Wild Frank’.
Francisco Javier Cuesta Ramos, better known as Frank Cuesta, is a Spanish adventurer, television presenter and tennis coach, who currently lives in Bangkok, Thailand for over 20 years. For the past 15 years Frank Cuesta has been fighting illegal animal trafficking and animal abuse in the southeast Asia. In 2012, after being infiltrated into Bear farms in Vietnam as a vet, he showed to the world, the dramatic images of how bears were abused daily, to get their bile for traditional alternative medicines and other curatives with no scientifically proven value. This report then pushed the Vietnamese Government to make an official statement where they promised to abort these activities. He presented his first TV Show ‘Frank de la jungla’ which was broadcast on Cuatro from 2010 to 2013 . It received the Premio Ondas award on 8 November 2011 in the national TV category. The show brought him international fame along with the spin-off shows called ‘La Selva en Casa’ and ‘Natural Frank’. In March 2013, Cuesta signed a contract with Discovery International in order to make the TV show ‘Wild Frank’ which has been broadcast in more than 100 countries.
The wind farm serves as an important reminder that non-polluting power-generating facilities that use clean energy sources, such as wind, play a key role in helping us meet the objectives of the Kyoto Protocol. Wind power makes it possible to produce electricity without releasing polluting substances into the environment, and has become a focus of major investment projects aimed at meeting future energy needs without harming the environment.
The wind farm was built to exacting standards by Gamesa Energia Italia and is owned by Acciona; both companies are active in the renewable energy sector. The facility will save thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides from being released into the atmosphere.
The wind farm has had virtually no impact on the local ecosystem. The turbines do not interfere with the wildlife or with the livestock that has traditionally grazed on the surrounding land. In addition to providing considerable economic benefit to Cocullo, which owns the land on which the turbines are located, the wind farm is a source of employment. The technicians who operate and maintain the facility were hired among the local population, and before taking up their duties they received appropriate training at Gamesa’s school for wind turbine technicians in Spain.
To reconcile the dual imperatives of increased clean-energy production and environmental protection, the national wind energy association (Associazione Nazionale Energia del Vento, or ANEV) undertook to work closely with the two principal environmental protection bodies, Legambiente and the World Wildlife Federation, in overseeing the construction of the wind farm and ensuring its appropriate integration into the landscape.
Technical data and description of wind farm
The construction of a wind farm in Cocullo is highly symbolic, not only because it is located in the province of L’Aquila, in the heart of Abruzzo, which has been designated a European Green Region, but also because it was completed only a few weeks after the Kyoto Protocol came into force.
The wind farm was financed entirely by Gamesa, which took special care to ensure that the facility was properly integrated into the environment and that the local population was fully involved. Gamesa, which has always made certain that its wind farms fit in well with their surroundings, made sure that every detail of the planning and construction satisfied this requirement, especially by taking the following measures:
burying all medium-voltage electrical lines;
setting the turbines well apart to minimize their impact on bird life and maintain appropriate density;
studying the location of local roads to minimize the visibility of the turbines and the impact of earth displacement;
laying down topsoil to ensure the rapid regrowth of vegetation in areas affected by the construction work;
having archaeologists on site throughout the excavations to ensure the proper treatment of any objects of interest found during the work.
Gamesa used local contractors and workers to build the wind farm, thus ensuring that the local population benefited from the economic and employment opportunities of such a large-scale project. Similarly, the technicians who operate the facility come from Cocullo and the surrounding area. Before taking up their duties, they were sent for training to Gamesa’s school for wind turbine technicians in Spain and to other wind farms built by Gamesa in Italy.
The wind farm is located entirely on territory administered by Cocullo, and the town actually owns most of the lands on which the turbines are located. Consequently, this small community, with its long history, will enjoy considerable long-term economic benefits from the operation of this facility.
