Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Starting on January 19th from Piazzale Cadorna and on the 25th from Parco Sempione. Culture and physical activity: two new ways to take care of the city and those who live there

Milan, January 16 2020 – After the Civic Merit received from the Municipality of Milan last December 7, the non-profit association Retake Milano strengthens its commitment towards its city with two new initiatives inspired by culture and well-being born from the desire to take care of the common good thanks to the active participation of the Milanese.

The cleaning activities (removal of tags, stickers and dirt) and plogging (light running with collection of micro-waste) which have already involved thousands of participants over the course of last year, will be accompanied by two great innovations: before starting the cleaning activities, participating volunteers will be able to rediscover pieces of history and little-known places in the city or, in the case of plogging, carry out physical activity in some parks with a muscle awakening guided by personal trainers. The initiative received the patronage of the Municipality of Milan, the patronage of the Presidency of the Lombardy Region and the patronage of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (MiBACT).

“We like this initiative for more than one reason – stated the councilors Filippo Del Corno (Culture) and Lorenzo Lipparini (Participation and Active Citizenship) who spoke today at the press conference in Palazzo Marino –. It involves in an intelligent and industrious way all active citizens who want to do something useful for Milan. It offers them the opportunity to learn about places and anecdotes of our cultural heritage guided by those who know the city's secrets and curiosities. Finally, it allows green and wellness enthusiasts to combine two good intentions and achieve one great result, running in the parks and cleaning them up. It is yet another high-impact collaboration carried out with Retake Milano. Ghe Pensi mi is the initiative of Milanese people who want to get involved to defend the beauty, cleanliness and quality of life in their city. Thanks to Retake, and to Sorgenia, Fondazione Fragiacomo and Milano da Vede, partners of this initiative”.

The new civic participation format is called "Ghe pensi mi", an expression in Milanese dialect used to emphasize the proverbial Milanese industriousness, that innate drive to step forward and get involved directly to solve a problem. In this case the intervention of "Ghe pensi mi" will be against what disfigures the city, which is often seen but which unfortunately cannot be completely eliminated. The volunteers who will join the Saturdays and Sundays of activities will be accompanied by Retake Milano and the Fragiacomo Foundation to get to know hidden corners of Milan and to enjoy the green areas, one for each municipality of the city: "This is Retake Milano's challenge for 2020. We want to make the Milanese fall in love with their city to create more solid foundations for our message of respect for the common good - comments Andrea Amato, President of Retake Milano -, the desire for respect also arises in this way, from the knowledge of a place and from the enrichment of the sense of belonging to the territory".

The cultural events, seven in total, every third Sunday of the month until July, will begin on Sunday 19 January in Piazzale Cadorna where the Needle, Thread and Knot monument will also be cleaned. The cleaning activity will be preceded by a guided tour starting from the historic Bar Magenta with an initial explanation conducted by Milano da Vede. Partner of the “Ghe Pensi mi” (Culture) project is the Maurizio Fragiacomo Foundation, an organization involved in the social field with particular attention to the Milanese community, but also active in safeguarding the city's health and environment.

“The Foundation is present and active exclusively in concrete projects, capable of understanding the present and anticipating the future – explained Enzo Pesce, President of the Maurizio Fragiacomo Foundation -. This is why we have decided to support a project that allows citizens to feel truly involved in the community and in the maintenance of the common good: if you love your city, you can and must intervene with actions and gestures which, however small, are significant and have an impact on the community.”

Plogging in public parks, however, will begin on Saturday 25 January at Parco Sempione and will take place every fourth Saturday of the month, until 24 October. To "train" the participants there will be a professional personal trainer who will be available for a group muscle awakening. Partner of the Sorgenia project, a digital energy company that makes sustainability its mission. “We firmly believe in this project which allows us to take care of the city in which we do business, involving people who share our same values ​​– declared Alberto Bigi, Head of Innovation & development of Sorgenia -. In fact, we are convinced that, today more than ever, companies must do their part to promote sustainable change in society, making a concrete contribution."

Participation in Ghe pensi mi is completely free and all you need to do is register on the Eventbrite platform by following the updates on the initiative website www.ghepensimi.retakemilano.org or by requesting information at the email address: comunica@retakemilano.org. 

To the beauty of Milan? What do you think of me!