The Turin-Lyon High-Speed Rail Opposition: The Commons as an Uncommon Experience for Italy

The construction of the High Speed Railway (HSR, TAV in Italian) line Turin-Lyon in the Susa Valley (Italy) has long been surrounded by bitter controversies which do not give enough relevance to the most significant and technical aspects of the proposed project. The most relevant critical aspects of the proposed HSR are explored, for going beyond that, pointing out the aspects dealing with the social implications of the anti-HSR (NOTAV in Italian) movement, the leading one in the Commons struggle today in Italy. A brief history of the NOTAV movement is reported. The HSR project brings with it, after more than twenty years of strenuous and continuous reworking, a deal of issues that suggest that this project is not an actual priority for Italy, and its construction should be suspended.