“Campus Grapes” at the Polytechnic University of Turin: €90,000 raised, the first vine shoot shortly

The initial goal was 70.000 euros, but the crowdfunding launched in November 2024 to finance “Campus Grapes”, an urban vineyard at the Polytechnic University of Turin, exceeded all expectations. They raised 90.000 euros, thanks to the generous participation of 10 local companies (Exclusive Brands Torino, Engas, Enoteca Regionale dei Vini della Provincia di Torino, Eventum/Grapes in Town, Lavazza Group, Luca & Violina, I Magredi, Reale Foundation, SellaLab and Zenit), as well as numerous corporate and private supporters. The project was created by the Turin start-up, Citiculture. It is now entering the second phase of fundraising, which has been opened through the “Produzioni dal basso” platform. The aim is to collect additional resources to be able to complete and enrich the space with benches, lighting, interactive signage and other infrastructures for public use, to make it more welcoming and functional. Further, they want to able to create and build, by June, a 1.000 square meter surface in which over 750 potted vines will be placed. They have planned to place the first vine shoot in the next few weeks, as announced recently to the institutions and supporting and partner companies at the Municipality of Turin, during the presentation of the project’s working plan. Moreover, during that occasion the Polytechnic University launched its collaboration with 1 Caffè Onlus. It is the first digital social company created to support small-medium Italian non-profit organizations through spreading the culture of giving. Its own crowdfunding platform supports 52 solidarity organizations every year promoting assistance projects in various social fields. “Campus Grapes” gives us the opportunity to inaugurate a new model of urban regeneration and green innovation, transforming cities into places of well-being, inclusion and scientific experimentation”, Luca Balbiano, CEO and founder of Citiculture, explained, “an urban vineyard becomes a concrete symbol to improve the quality of city life, strengthen social ties and reduce the environmental impact”. To celebrate the official launch of “Campus Grapes”, Citiculture has awarded several prominent local figures, who, have significantly contributed to “cultivating the future of Turin” through their professionalism and dedication. The awards were given to, among others, Alberto Cirio, president of the Piedmont Region, Stefano Lo Russo, mayor of Turin, Luca Argentero, actor, Arturo Brachetti, artist and Daisy Osakue, Olympic athlete.
The future vineyard is part of the broader plan to redevelop the University’s greenery, “and it is part of the Decarbonization and Resilience Plan that the Polytechnic University in Turin is working on”, Patrizia Lombardi, Deputy Rector for Sustainable Campus and Living Lab of the Polytechnic, underlined, “and the aim is providing nature-based solutions to strengthen the ability to adapt to climate change not only the university community, but also citizens. In addition to this, we must take into account the important educational and scientific value of the project”. The vineyard will be available to the Polytechnic community and especially to the students in the new Master's Degree in AgriTech Engineering course, “becoming an open-air laboratory testing solutions to adapt to climate change, and agriculture 4.0 practices - a living ecosystem in which theory and practice meet”, Danilo Demarchi, the scientific advisor, added. From the vitivinicultural perspective, the experimental element consists in the choice of different types of clones, rows and pergolas as well as different types of vine and berry varieties to minimize the intervention of phytosanitary products, and making the choice to plant the vines in pots. Selecting the vines was carried out in collaboration with Vivaio Rauscedo, one of the largest nurseries in Europe and one of the pioneers in developing PIWI-resistant varieties.