Campus Grapes, the first hi-tech urban vineyard ever built globally, comes to life in Turin: an open-air laboratory that combines technology, sustainability and urban regeneration. The project will be hosted by the Polytechnic University of Turin, on an area of about 1,000 square meters, and involves the planting of 750 vines in pots.
The idea came from the Turin-based startup Citiculture, which specializes in the design and management of urban vineyards as tools for ESG impact, well-being and brand enhancement. The plants, selected in collaboration with the Rauscedo Nursery, will be Piwi varieties, resistant to fungi, to reduce the use of pesticides and increase the sustainability of the project. The laying of the first vine cuttings – a young plant already rooted – is expected by June 2025.
Campus Grapes will be a space available to the Politecnico community and, in particular, to the students of the new master’s degree course in Agritech Engineering, designed to train figures capable of “managing and generating technological innovation for agriculture 4.0”. In this open-air laboratory, theory and practice meet to develop innovative and sustainable solutions.
The project also has a strong environmental and social value. As Patrizia Lombardi, Vice-Rector for Sustainable Campus and Living Lab at the Politecnico di Torino, explains, “it is part of the Decarbonization and Resilience Plan on which the Politecnico di Torino is working to provide nature-based solutions to strengthen the ability to adapt to climate change not only of the university community but also of citizens”.
The first phase of crowdfunding raised 90,000 euros thanks to the contribution of private individuals and the support of ten local sponsors : Exclusive Brands Torino, Lavazza Group, Reale Foundation, SellaLab, Enoteca Regionale dei Vini della Provincia di Torino, Engas, Eventum / Grapes in Town, Luca&Violina, Cantina I Magredi and Zenit. The second phase, active on the Produzioni dal Basso platform, aims to raise an additional 20,000 euros to enrich the space with benches, lighting and interactive signage.
Campus Grapes also aims to involve citizens through events and collaborations with the third sector. An example is the partnership with 1 Caffè Onlus, the first digital social reality created to support small and medium-sized Italian non-profit organizations through the dissemination of the culture of the gesture of giving. Since 2011, it has supported 52 charities every year (one per week) through a crowdfunding platform based on microfunding, where you can donate even the equivalent of a coffee.
The vineyard will be able to absorb about 2 tons ofCO2 per year and wants to become a replicable model of urban and environmental innovation.
