On Saturday, 4 July 2026, the Global Network of Water Museums hosted at its office in Ala (Trento, Italy) a delegation of Italian and international students from the course “Environment and Climate in International Cooperation Projects – 2026”, organised by the School of Advanced Training of VIS (Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo), a NGO based in Rome. The group included participants from across Europe as well as from Morocco and Nigeria, and was accompanied by Prof. Massimo Zortea as representative of the UNESCO Chair in “Engineering for Human and Sustainable Development” at the University of Trento (DICAM – Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering).
The delegation was welcomed by the Mayor of Ala, Stefano Gatti, together with Mauro Martinelli, Councillor for Heritage of the Municipality of Ala, and by the WAMU+NET staff: Executive Director Eriberto Eulisse, Fiorenza Tisi, and Irene Leonardelli.
The morning began with a guided visit to the photographic exhibition “I Remember Water”, organised by WAMU+NET as part of the cultural event Ala Città di Velluto 2026 at Palazzo Pizzini. The exhibition features 30 photographs from around the world, narrating the deep relationship between water and human communities through six thematic sections: Heritage, Life, Play, Spirituality, Belonging, and Transformation.
Participants then visited the garden of Palazzo Pizzini, reopened to the public the previous day after extensive renovation works, on the occasion of the 29th edition of the cultural event Ala Città di Velluto.
The visit continued at the WAMU+NET office, where an exchange session took place. Following a presentation by Eriberto Eulisse and the WAMU+NET team, discussions focused on potential synergies with the University of Trento, particularly with the UNESCO Chair, to provide high-level training on water culture. The dialogue explored opportunities for collaboration on international projects related to water heritage valorisation, environmental education, and climate change challenges, with the active involvement of students and researchers.
This visit represents an important step toward future collaboration, offering valuable opportunities for growth and visibility not only for the partners involved but also for the town of Ala itself.
As host of the WAMU+NET office, Ala continues to strengthen its role as a national and international reference point for water culture, rooted in its rich hydrological history that has shaped the economic and cultural development of the town, renowned for its long-standing tradition of velvet weaving, its water-related heritage of fountains and picturesque views, and for the magnificence of its baroque palaces and monuments.
In the afternoon, the group travelled to Campo Lomaso to visit the exhibition “Suoni e segni di Vaia” at the Convent, curated by the Ecomuseum of Judicaria “From the Dolomites to Garda,” an active member of WAMU+NET. The day concluded with a visit to the Fiavé Pile-Dwelling Archaeological Park (Trento), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, guided by the Archaeological Heritage Office of the Autonomous Province of Trento.
The students and researchers had the opportunity to experience first-hand the richness of the environmental, historical, and human water-related heritage of the visited sites, as well as the value of the multi-level collaborations already in place.
Go to the presentations, photos and videos from the visit