Ilaria Lamera is 23 years old and studies Environmental Engineering at the Milan Polytechnic: her University has also become her “home” since she decided to protest against high rents by sleeping in a tent.
Sleeping in a tent in front of the University
Ilaria Lamera lives in the province of Bergamo and is a student of the Milan Polytechnic: to reach her university she travels every day as a commuter, sometimes taking several hours to get to class. For this reason, she tried to look for a room in Milan, running into the hellish circle of high rents that afflicts the city. Thus, Ilaria decided to camp in Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, in front of her University, and sleep in a tent until Sunday 7 May.
The protest against the high rents in Milan
Ilaria’s is a form of protest against high rents which for some time now has made the city of Milan increasingly unlivable: there are many students who cannot find a room for less than 700 euros, or who are offered borderline solutions of legality (and decency) at exorbitant prices: “I couldn’t find anything under 700 euros” says Ilaria in front of the university entrance. Even the prices of shared rooms have become unsustainable by now, so much so that students are forced to look for solutions in the hinterland, but even here the costs are rapidly settling down to the city average.
Students and families increasingly in difficulty
Forced to commute or to live in conditions that are not at all dignified, the students clamor for an intervention by the institutions: Ilaria does it in her own way, temporarily moving her residence to a tent. The situation is dramatic not only for students, but also for families: the average income received in Milan is not sufficient to cover the cost of rents, mortgages and the high cost of living, all of which is bringing the country to its knees. The hope is that Ilaria’s protest, from her tent in front of the Polytechnic, can serve to bring due attention to this problem that is compromising the present and future of the youngest.
