Natural stone is not just a building material; it can be the foundation for reimagining how we live.
Italy holds a widespread architectural heritage that’s still waiting to be fully rediscovered—made up of historic mountain settlements and contemporary projects that give them new purpose. Small villages, big ideas. Here, architecture becomes essential, innovative, and deeply rooted in the land. It’s an approach that renews without overwhelming, balancing respect for the landscape with minimal environmental and economic impact.
This is the spirit behind all’Insù, a festival created by the Comunità Montana di Valle Camonica and supported by the Directorate-General for Contemporary Creativity of the Italian Ministry of Culture. From April 4 to 12, 2025, the valley will host a packed program of talks, exhibitions, awards, guided tours, and seminars dedicated to contemporary mountain architecture.
Iconic places like the conference center in Darfo Boario Terme, designed by Vittorio Gregotti, and the former hydroelectric plant in Cedegolo by Gio Ponti will serve as venues for dialogue and inspiration. On April 8, the festival will premiere a documentary on Ponti’s Hotel Paradiso, with special guest Salvatore Licitra, founder of the Gio Ponti Archives and grandson of the architect.
Alongside these celebrated names, the festival looks to the future: the Residenze Eroiche will offer ten young architects a hands-on opportunity for growth, while the Abitare Minimo in Montagna prize—complete with exhibition and catalog—will spotlight low-impact, high-intelligence design for mountain living.
In this context, natural stone takes on a new meaning. It’s no longer just structure—it becomes a connection. In mountain villages, stone sheds its urban symbolism of power or monumentality and instead becomes part of a living dialogue with the landscape. Here, building means listening. The stones of the walls speak to the stones of the mountains—not to conquer them, but to coexist.
