A tent pitched in Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, in front of the Polytechnic, where he will sleep until May 7, to protest “against unsustainable rents”.
It is the initiative of an environmental engineering student, Ilaria Lamera, supported by Terna Sinistrorsa and told by the young woman on Instagram.
“For years now, the costs of renting in Milan have been out of reach. Living in Milan means spending 600 euros (excluding expenses) for a single room – explains Terna Sinistorsa in a post – Although the situation is now known, and there is Since the institutions have been opened, measures capable of making Milanese accommodation more accessible have not yet been envisaged.For this reason, Ilaria, a student of the Milan Polytechnic, decided to pitch her tent in Piazza Leonardo Da Vinci to sleep here , from today until Sunday May 7. Terna Sinistrorsa is determined to apply the necessary pressure so that public institutions, from the Region to the Government, intervene to remedy and resolve the situation”.
With the cry of ‘let’s burst the bubble’, the invitation to join Ilaria’s protest is open to “any type of reality”.
For her part, Ilaria said that last night a university friend kept her company, guaranteeing her safety and the police also went by to check that everything was in order. “If you want to stop by today and say hello to me – her invitation in an instagram story – I’ll wait for you”.
“Late yesterday afternoon it passed Majorino and managed to call Elly Schlein and pass it. I also confronted her”. These are the words of Ilaria Lamera, camped since last Tuesday with a tent in Piazza Leonardo da Vinci in front of the Polytechnic to protest against high rents in Milan, in Agorà on Rai Tre. “It is not up to me to bring solutions to the tables of the institutions – explains Ilaria – Whoever came here to talk to me promised me that they will set in motion to remedy the problem”. For Ilaria, “there are possibilities, for example, the funds of the Pnrr could be employed in the public rather than in the private sector; or invest in new student accommodation at more affordable prices. I would also like the imposition of a ceiling on rents, but I realize that this would be difficult”.
“The situation here in the city is impracticable. I went to visit an indeterminate number of houses and for all they asked for a single room from 700 euros upwards, without expenses”. “For double rooms the price was lower – continues the girl originally from Bergamo, a student in the fourth year of Environmental Engineering – but in unlivable conditions: two people crammed into very small or dirty bedrooms. It was not feasible and therefore from the beginning of the ‘year I had to commute. Then, one evening I thought I would like to have a tent so as not to be forced to return home late again and I came up with the idea of this protest”. Several other off-site boys and girls are in the same conditions (“I had a lot of feedback, many give up on the University”, confirms Ilaria) and also for this reason his protest action is supported by left-wing Terna, the student list of the Polytechnic.
The rector of the Milan Polytechnic intervenes on the matter Donatella Sciuto met Lamera. “Yesterday I was in Rome and this morning I went to talk to her. I told her that we support her in this battle that we too are fighting as far as possible” the rector explained to ANSA. “As rectors, it’s something we’ve denounced for some time. I also told the mayor: Milan is a city for elderly and rich people and we need housing not only for students – he adds – but also for those who graduate and with a salary don’t pay the rent.” “I want those who want to study to go to university, not just those who can afford it” adds the rector.
The Polytechnic has recently allocated for this “one million euros” for a rent aid measure, which is added to those already present. “Before, the students had to present the rental contract, now with this measure we are trying to simplify things, for example also helping commuters, considering for example that Trenord does not have passes for students. But we have to define it exactly”. “The situation – he says – exploded after Covid”, in part because it is more convenient for the owners to rent to tourists for short periods. “Before it only happened during the week of the Salone, now it’s like this all year round” she adds. In September, the university will have 2,000 beds in its residences, to which another 250 will be added next year and another 500 in 2026. “It takes time and money to build them and we do our part but it’s not much”, indeed with a student population of 47,959 enrolled (March data) of which a third are foreigners, this is a drop in the bucket. “Mayor Sala and councilor Maran are well aware of the situation. It is not easy to find a solution because private individuals are private”. According to Sciuto, “all the Municipality, Region and State bodies need to come together: we need to find a way to calm the market and I believe – adds Sciuto – that the Municipality has the will to do so”. There was talk of a possibility of limiting short-term rentals, for example. There is no easy solution but certainly, concludes the rector, “our students are in great difficulty”.
Source: Ansa
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