ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on recent forms of neo-rural entrepreneurship in the Susa Valley (Alpine Valley) relying on the debate about the new “centrality” of the mountain areas, a discourse that can be placed at the intersection of different local development interpretative models in which the traditional urban-centric perception of mountain territories, traditionally described as “intermediate” or “marginal” territories has weakened. In particular, the analysis will focus on 1. the conditions that allowed new forms of entrepreneurship in the Susa Valley, as well as the critical issues that hindered the establishment and development of new entrepreneurial paths, 2. the local identity, 3. the Turin-Lyon HSR case, 4. the metro-mountain connections, 5. the life and work experience of new “entrepreneurs-mountaineers”.
