WINTER 2024 – Laying the foundations of a vision

Winter 2024 marked the moment when Hub of Culture began to take shape, through planning, early project design, and the first opportunities for local engagement. During this phase, TUTTOTONDO started organising activities and defining the operational model of the Hub, working around a clear cultural vision: turning Besano into a place to be experienced not only as a village to visit, but as an inclusive and participatory cultural journey.

At the same time, the project advanced the design work behind Casa AGNES, an eco-compatible structure envisioned as the future operational heart of the Hub and a tangible symbol of sustainability. During this phase, the installation on the initially identified site was rescheduled following directions from the local Municipality, without interrupting the overall development process or the ongoing work on content creation.

We have remained – and continue to be – confident and motivated to move forward, with the goal of completing the installation and making Casa AGNES fully operational as a stable reference point for the project.

Alongside planning, the first steps were taken to collect and structure content, setting the groundwork for what would later feed into the TRATOO platform: a digital base designed to narrate places, highlight key points of interest, and make the experience accessible even beyond individual events. Throughout the winter, the Hub also became a space for connection: small groups, families, and local residents began meeting and moving through the village via walks, outreach moments, and presentations—laying the foundations for the most “human” dimension of the project, built on dialogue and community listening.

In parallel, already in this initial phase, a distinctive project approach was established – one that would accompany the entire HdC journey: the shift from an “hub that communicates” to an “hub that activates.” From the very first local initiatives, participants were involved not only as visitors, but as active contributors, with explicit invitations to create photographs, drawings, and creative materials inspired by local places, natural themes, and the project’s shared imagination.

In line with this approach, the project also laid the groundwork for creative activities able to extend participation beyond the village itself, while maintaining a cohesive narrative thread. Among these was the artistic programme “More Real than Real”, developed with TUTTOTONDO at the premises of the Techinnova S.p.A. incubator, focused on the fundamentals of hyperrealistic drawing and led by master artist Agostino Bergo. This initiative strengthened the production of visual contributions aligned with the project’s themes (nature, dinosaurs, and cultural storytelling) and with the community-building approach introduced from the very beginning.

SPRING 2025 – History comes to life

Spring 2025 was the season when HdC truly came alive, transforming Besano’s heritage into a cultural experience lived directly on the ground – through routes, content, and moments of shared participation.

During these months, the creation and publication work on TRATOO was consolidated, with the progressive development of thematic itineraries and Points of Interest (POIs) dedicated to local history, the village’s identity landmarks, and its natural setting. Thanks to this digital foundation, the content became accessible not only during scheduled events, but also over time, in a simple and user-friendly way.

A central role was played by the Besano Fossil Museum, a key cultural and symbolic landmark around which stories, stops, and routes were built – connecting scientific outreach, local identity, and place discovery.

Spring also introduced one of the project’s most distinctive elements: the use of ARS software for Augmented Reality, designed to make the visitor experience more immersive and engaging. Through AR, a simple walk turned into an experiential journey blending landscape and imagination, allowing participants to “encounter” the past in an immediate and surprising way. Within this framework, interactive activities such as “find the dinosaur” were also introduced, making exploration more playful and engaging – especially for families and young people – while supporting a light, educational, and memorable way of discovering the village.

Beyond routes and content, spring further strengthened the project’s participatory dimension, promoting an approach based on co-creation and active involvement.

From this community-building dynamic emerged the exhibition “Gentle Circular Design,” hosted at SC3 Cultural Space in Milan (Via Scutari 3), serving as a concrete output and an external showcase of the project’s results and of the work carried out.

SUMMER 2025 – Innovation in the open air

Summer 2025 was the season when Hub of Culture reached its most dynamic and “open” dimension, bringing activities even closer to the territory and turning Besano into an experience to enjoy through nature, culture, and discovery. During these months, the project continued expanding and strengthening the content published on TRATOO, progressively adding new routes and POIs and reinforcing the idea of a digital ecosystem able to accompany visitors beyond individual events.

A distinctive feature of the summer programme was the promotion of soft mobility, thanks to the use of electric pedal-assist bicycles as a way to explore the village and its territorial connections. The e-bikes made the experience more accessible and engaging, supporting a sustainable form of cultural tourism capable of combining scenic views, itineraries, and outreach moments into a single, integrated journey.

Within this scenario, several symbolic village landmarks also played a central role as cultural and narrative stops. Among them, the Santa Maria Nascente Chapel was enhanced as an identity-defining and landscape-based reference point, naturally fitting within the proposed routes and connecting historical, spiritual, and territorial dimensions.

Through guided walks, field activities, and moments of exchange with participants, the Hub confirmed itself as a lively and participatory meeting space – where cultural regeneration takes shape through real experiences, relationships, and new ways of telling the territory.

AUTUMN 2025 – The territory becomes a story

Autumn 2025 represented the project’s maturity and consolidation phase: a period in which activities continued to unfold across the territory, with an increasingly clear focus on synthesis, on highlighting results, and on building a lasting cultural legacy for the village.

In this stage, the visitor experience proved to be a participatory and accessible journey, where nature, landscape, and local identity came together through discovery moments, meetings, and shared activities. Field outings and hands-on experiences continued strengthening the bond between community and territory, making Besano not just a place to pass through, but a place to understand and truly experience.

Alongside the locations already promoted in earlier phases, autumn provided the opportunity to integrate and contextualise additional key references of the village’s historic and community life – such as the Parish Church of Saint Martin of Tours, an architectural and cultural element that helps define local identity and enrich the broader territorial narrative.

At the same time, content enrichment activities continued on TRATOO, consolidating routes and POIs and strengthening the idea of a digital ecosystem able to ensure project continuity and to support visitors even outside scheduled events.

Autumn further enhanced the project’s creative and outreach dimension. Building on the path launched with the “More Real than Real” course, participants joined an interactive open-air painting workshop, exploring new ways of narrating Besano through observation and hands-on creation. Painting directly on site turned the experience into an exercise of interpretation: on one side, “painting from life,” inspired by views, landscapes, and identity landmarks; on the other, a more imaginative and narrative element, capable of blending reality and creative suggestion (as in the case of dinosaur-inspired artworks). In this way, the landscape became an integral part of the cultural experience – not just something to cross, but something to read, reinterpret, and share through a collective creative gesture.

To conclude the journey, the final phase also included moments of coordination and shared reflection, such as the closing call dedicated to the “final activities,” which made it possible to gather what had been achieved, consolidate the work carried out, and prepare the continuation of future actions.

COLLABORATIONS

Hub of Culture was made possible thanks to a network of organisations that contributed – each with specific expertise – to the success of on-the-ground activities and to the development of the project’s digital component.

• Tuttotondo S.r.l.: As the lead partner, TUTTOTONDO oversaw the overall coordination of the project, guiding planning, initiative organisation, content production, and the narrative journey that shaped the project’s seasonal development.
• Cripax Creations S.r.l.s.: Cripax Creations provided essential technical support through equipment supplied for activities and in-person communication, including PCs, TVs, and an audio/video system. The contribution also included the A4E software licence, used as an operational tool to organise and manage digital content and multimedia materials, making them easier to deliver during events, presentations, and outreach moments throughout the project.
• Techinnova S.p.A.: Techinnova supported the project’s technological and immersive component through the ARS software licence, used to create Augmented Reality experiences and to make routes more engaging. Within the overall project design, Techinnova is also associated with the management of the Casa AGNES asset, envisioned as a future physical and sustainable reference point for Hub activities. In addition, Techinnova hosted the “More Real than Real” painting course at its premises, led by master artist Agostino Bergo in collaboration with TUTTOTONDO, contributing to the project’s creative and participatory dimension.
• Planetario S.r.l.: Planetario contributed to the project’s full operability by supplying furniture and electric pedal-assist bicycles, used in territorial activities and soft mobility experiences. The e-bikes enabled a sustainable and accessible way to experience Besano, connecting routes, scenic views, and points of interest into one integrated journey.

• Greennovations S.r.l.: Greennovations delivered the construction works linked to the assets and operational needs of the project, supporting the logistical and structural aspects required to make activities fully implementable.

THE PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION – NEXT GENERATION EU