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Topolò

Topolove (the Slovene version of the name) is an isolated village, quite big – at the beginning of the 20th Century it counted almost 400 inhabitants – but nowadays almost completely depopulated. Its position at 500 m in a beeline from Slovenia, was through the 20th Century quite inconvenient: on this border the First World War was fought, as well as the Second, while this fragment of the Italian-Slovenian border lived a quite harsh time also during the Cold War. Also because of these historical reasons the village lost almost all of its population.
Many houses of the village are empty ruins while others were restored in the ‘90s. The landscape which encircles the village is a rural tiers paysage (borrowing the concept from Gilles Clément), an abandoned forest which hides a beautiful terraced landscape, defined by dry-stone walls.

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In 1994 the art project (today a festival) Stazione di Topolò/Postaja Topolove started in Topolò: this almost 30 years old event brought public interest to the village and its history and also taught us, Robida, that it is maybe possible to materialize the utopia of making this place re-flourish.
Since 2017 Robida takes care of the abandoned terraces, occupies houses and gardens, opened a communal space for the village (Izba) and tries to imagine possible futures for places like these!

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Topolò Topolove is the seat of our association and our soul.
Topolò Topolove is a village in Benečija which today counts 22 inhabitants.
Topolò Topolove is our heart-quarter.
Topolò Topolove is our place of freedom and embodied history.
Topolò Topolove is the place where we feel the power of togetherness.
Topolò Topolove is our playground.
Topolò Topolove is the place of our collective imagination.
Topolò Topolove is the place where we experiment, with respect and humbleness.
Topolò Topolove is our utopia.