La Piantastorie (born from the team effort with Monica Bocelli, Francesca Lodini, Alessandra Meloni and Giulia Minola) is one of the many projects the university Politecnico of Milan did in collaboration with the municipality with the goal of reviving a rough district of the city, Bovisasca.
This project is the fictional story of a retired woman who rediscovers her district. It is told entirely via Instagram, with her pictures, videos and comments.
The story of La Piantastorie ("The Story Farmer") begins as she walks down the streets and parks of her neighbourhood. In a park she meets a man who is promoting the communal vegetable garden, by asking the passerby to plant a herb of their choice in the park near a bright red bench, marking it with their name.
The woman and the gardener become friends, and the woman takes the man's idea further: she asks people who plant their herb to tell her something meaningful of Bovisasca, a slice of their life there. She records their stories and posts them on her Instagram (starting with his). Through this, learns many things of the district she never knew.
It is only after many interviews that we discover something about the woman herself. Telling other people's stories gave her courage to tell her own: her name is Erica and she's a childless widow who used to feel alone and now loves gardening. This project had her making many friends, and she is happy.
She is now a "Story Farmer", and she chooses as her symbol the bright red bench where everything started.
