by InTrieste
Regional officials on Tuesday, December 16, inaugurated a new ski lift at Sella Nevea, a high-altitude resort in the Julian Alps near the Slovenian border, marking the latest step in a broader public investment strategy aimed at strengthening mountain tourism in Friuli Venezia Giulia region.
The project, a four-seat chairlift known as the Gilberti, replaces an older two-seat installation and was built at a cost of about €5 million. Regional authorities say it is part of a wider effort to modernize infrastructure in alpine areas that have long struggled with depopulation and seasonal economies.
“This is another important investment for the mountains of Friuli Venezia Giulia,” Sergio Emidio Bini, the region’s councillor for productive activities and tourism, said at the opening ceremony. In recent years, he added, more than €6.2 million has been allocated to the Sella Nevea area alone, including funding for the new lift, upgrades to ski runs and avalanche safety systems.
The Gilberti chairlift, built by the Italian company Leitner, increases hourly capacity from 1,200 to 1,800 passengers, a change officials say will ease congestion and improve connections within the ski area. The lift runs for about 360 meters, linking a base station at 1,785 meters above sea level with an upper station at 1,860 meters. Construction began in June and concluded in December, following final safety testing.
Local and regional leaders framed the project as part of a long-term strategy rather than a stand-alone intervention. Over the next three years, PromoTurismoFVG, the region’s tourism development agency, plans to carry out works and investments totaling roughly €220 million, much of it earmarked for mountain resorts across Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Sella Nevea, located in the municipality of Chiusaforte, sits near the border with Slovenia and has sought to position itself as a cross-border destination, drawing visitors from both countries. Representatives from the nearby Slovenian town of Bovec attended Monday’s inauguration, alongside the mayors of Chiusaforte and Resia and senior officials from PromoTurismoFVG.
Beyond the new lift, recent interventions at Sella Nevea have included the installation of avalanche protection systems and the reconfiguration of the Cai 2 ski run to make it usable throughout the year, a move intended to support summer as well as winter tourism.
Regional officials argue that public spending on infrastructure is beginning to yield measurable results. During the 2024–25 winter season, Sella Nevea recorded nearly 62,000 visitor entries, an increase of 27 percent compared with the average of the past decade and up 8.7 percent from the previous season.
Early indicators for the current winter season, Mr. Bini said, also point to continued growth. But he emphasized that tourism is only part of the picture. “The mountains of Friuli Venezia Giulia are not just repopulating from a tourism perspective,” he said. “They are becoming attractive again for business investment as well.”
Data from the regional chamber of commerce appear to support that assessment. For the fourth consecutive year, the number of active businesses in the mountainous areas of Friuli has increased, reaching more than 5,000 in total. In 2024, the number rose by 43, or 0.9 percent, driven mainly by growth in services and construction. Women-owned businesses accounted for more than 26 percent of the total, a share higher than the regional average.
Despite these gains, challenges remain. Mountain communities across northeastern Italy continue to face demographic decline, with aging populations and outmigration among younger residents. Regional officials argue that sustained public investment—particularly in tourism infrastructure and industrial areas—is essential to reversing those trends and creating conditions for long-term economic activity.
For now, the new lift at Sella Nevea stands as a visible symbol of that strategy: a relatively modest structure, but one that regional leaders hope will help anchor a more resilient future for the alpine communities around it.
