Nine Castles to tell the story of a single community, starting from its people even before its places. That is the idea behind “Nove castelli, una comunità” (“Nine Castles, One Community”), the new television programme devised by Osvaldo Bevilacqua, which will travel across San Marino in search of stories, testimonies and traditions capable of conveying the identity of the Republic.
The project stems from a collaboration between the Secretariat of State for Territory, San Marino RTV, Tim San Marino, AASS and the Emigration Research Centre. The cameras will begin in the Castles of Città, Montegiardino and Domagnano, before continuing the journey through the other communities of the Titano.
The aim is not to create a simple tourist showcase. The programme seeks to go inside the communities themselves, describing how they have changed, who lives in them today, and which stories have helped shape their identity. It is a project that looks particularly to young people and to the need to keep alive the bond with one’s own origins.
“Community is the strength of a territory,” said Bevilacqua, placing at the heart of the project the recovery of stories and testimonies through storytelling. The goal is to bring new generations closer to their roots and strengthen awareness of Sammarinese identity.
This approach was echoed by the Secretary of State for Territory, Matteo Ciacci, who pointed out that work on the territory also involves initiatives capable of exploring its social, cultural and identity-related dimensions.
The president of San Marino RTV, Pasquale Valentini, also dwelt on the value of relationships between people. He noted that the Republic’s small size still allows for particularly strong community ties today — a heritage that must be passed on to new generations as well.
Alongside memory, there is also room for innovation. The president of Tim San Marino, Nicola Barone, highlighted the role of connectivity and the country’s digital transformation. Tradition and future thus become the two faces of the same journey.
Helping to physically connect the various stops will be Smuvi, the mobility service that will support travel across the Castles, symbolically linking the different communities together.
“Nove castelli, una comunità” will therefore be a journey into San Marino and its people, in which each Castle will have the chance to tell what makes it unique, while at the same time piecing together a shared identity made of memory, belonging and future.
