They made the fortune of tourism on the Riviera. But for many, too many years, they have been monuments to degradation. Real abandoned cathedrals, often frequented by thugs and drug dealers. To offer – finally – a second life to the former colonies on the sea, “we have a plan”, assure the mayors of the Riviera. But to redevelop the colonies, it is first necessary to eliminate the snares and snares of bureaucracy. Remove the constraints which, up until now, have hindered practically any intervention on the 250 former colonies still present in Romagna and held back potential private investments (with rare exceptions, as happened in Bolognese).
For many months the Municipality of Rimini and others on the coast have been ‘negotiating’ with the Region, to look for a way out and prepare a plan for the future of the colonies. A topic that was explored and dissected yesterday in the Rimini city council room, where the territory and environment commission of the legislative assembly of Emilia Romagna met, in the presence of mayors and administrators of the Riviera municipalities. Mayors who have put pressure on the Region to eliminate some constraints. Among the first to raise the question was the owner of the house, Jamil Sadegholvaad. “We have important projects – stated the mayor of Rimini and president of the Province – for the Enel, Murri and Novarese colonies”. Negotiations are underway with potential investors for the redevelopment of Murri and Novarese. For the Novarese area, Palazzo Garampi is ready with the new tender for the assignment of the area. But it is above all for the former Enel colony that the finish line finally seems close. The project is there: the building, already partly owned by the Municipality, once acquired will be demolished to create a large square overlooking the sea and car parks in its place. “For the former Enel – says Sadegholvaad – we therefore ask the Region to proceed with the green light for the administrative acts that will allow the Municipality, in a few months, to acquire this gigantic degraded monster in the southern area through an expropriation. We ask the legislative assembly to give us the OK before the early closure of the legislature, so as to finally be able to also provide certainty to the private individuals involved, with whom collaboration is fundamental”.
A discussion that also applies to Murri, Novarese and also Bolognese, purchased by entrepreneurs Linda Gemmani and Orfeo Bianchi, determined to transform the former Miramare colony into a large hotel with spa and high-level services. “So far – continues the mayor – the resurrection of the colonies has been held back by a tangle of overlapping rules and laws which make their recovery impossible, in fact. And those who say that it would be up to the public to acquire and redevelop them don’t know what they are saying, both in financial and above all functional terms”. Hence the appeal made yesterday to the Region, so that “we begin to think seriously about the recovery plan for the colonies”.
The mayors, all the mayors, are in a hurry. Because the colonies have become monuments to degradation “and cause damage to the image of the cities. An unacceptable situation – attacks the mayor of Riccione Daniela Angelini – 50 years after their disposal”. The mayor of Cesenatico Matteo Gozzoli adds further: “In Cesenatico alone the colonies occupy 500 thousand cubic metres. Numbers that make us understand how important the type of rules we are going to develop are”. Offering a second life to the colonies also means and above all, the mayors underline in unison, “eliminating the security and public order problems they create”.
A heartfelt appeal that will not go unheard. At least in words, there is the Region’s commitment to unblock a situation that has persisted for many, too many years. And the first objective will be to resolve the case of the former Enel colony, eliminating the constraints that currently prevent the Municipality from implementing the redevelopment. Yesterday, the Region’s environment and territory commission announced that “a proposed resolution will be discussed in the Legislative Assembly by the end of June which will allow the redevelopment project of the former Enel colony to proceed”.
