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The last time Igor De Santis ran for mayor in Ingria, a small village surrounded by forests and mountains near Turin, he won an easy landslide. But he faces a tough challenge in his bid for a fourth term after his mother joined an opposing camp.
Ingria, one of the smallest villages in Italy, is home to 46 residents. The electorate is another 26 people registered to vote from abroad.
De Santis, 42, has led the administration since 2009 and expected competition in the mayoral race from opposition councilor Renato Poleto, 70. The situation became more complicated when Stefano Venuti, a resident of Milan who has a second home in Ingria, threw his hat into the ring. “We didn’t expect that,” De Santis said.
And then the micro-race was completely upended by Poleto, who announced that he had secured the support of De Santis’ mother, Milena Crosasso, and nominated her for a councilor position in the vote to elect a new council on June 8-9, as part of a list including nine women and one man. A total of 30 people – about two-thirds of the village’s residents – are now competing for positions.
“I asked [my mother] to join me, but after seeing that Poleto’s roster was mostly women, she decided to go with them,” De Santis said. “They are all volunteers who have worked very hard for the village.”
Crosasso said the rivalry will not affect family harmony. “Both my son and I want what’s best for the community, and this is an opportunity to give voice to women’s perspectives without weakening family ties,” she said.
Ingria is located in Italy’s Soana Valley and experiences problems similar to other mountain villages, such as depopulation, scarce services and challenges with snow in winter. Since 2022, when it was named one of the “most beautiful” villages in Italy, it has also had to cope with an increase in tourism.
“There’s been an incredible surge and we have to deal with that,” De Santis said. “There are few residents, but many second homes. Our main goal is to preserve the beauty of Ingria.”
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Venuti told the Corriere della Sera newspaper that he decided to run for mayor after being urged to do so by local residents. “I’ve integrated very well,” he said.
Despite the competition, De Santis, whose grandfather was mayor of Ingria for 30 years, said he was “optimistic” he could win.
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