GAGLIANO ATERNO – Antonio Maiorino from Potenza, a nurse fleeing from the stress of Rome who already dreams of “setting up a community nursing service, and in the meantime I am fascinated by the life stories of the people who live here”, Ludovico D’Amatofrom nearby Sulmona, student in Bologna, committed to “writing a thesis on energy communities, with the need to escape the dynamics of cities”, Guglielmo Ficola from Perugia, a recent graduate in anthropology, convinced “by the opportunities for increasing knowledge in the field, and in a beautiful and hospitable land”, Andrea Testaoriginally from Chieti, arrived here “with the intention of staying, and I ask you to help me understand the best way to do it”. Valentina Giachetto Raterfrom the province of Turin, driven by the desire “to refine and increase professional community activation skills”. Antonella Vitzmannfrom Friuli, who “loves small towns because they have great potential”,
This is how the winners of the Neo competition, organized by Hubruzzo Responsible Industry Foundation And Mim.
The new inhabitants will live in the Subequana valley for six months, hosted in the municipalities of Acciano, Castel di Ieri, Castelvecchio Subequo, Fontecchio, Goriano Sicoli, Molina Aterno, Secinaro, Tione degli Abruzzi and Gagliano Aterno, where the project was born two years ago, this year
Present at the initiative, in addition to the mayors of the nine municipalities, Raimondo Castelluccigeneral director of the Hubruzzo Foundation, Vittorio Alvino of Open Polis, Raffaello Ficoowner of the Special Office for Reconstruction, Raffaele SpadanoMountains in motion.
The journalist moderated Germana D’Orazio.
After a first month of settling in, the girls and boys of Neo will be engaged in social and community activities in the municipalities involved, and in advanced training courses with national level teaching, creation of questionnaires related to the topic of living and needs.
The mayor of Gagliano Aterno Luca Santilli will do the honors: “Three years ago in this square, with the Returning to the Future project, a path began which now, but the ground was already fertile thanks to the inhabitants, to the active associations, then through participation, punctuated by over 60 assemblies, and the involvement of competent people The Neo project started in 2022, with 28 applications and other skills, with people who wanted to come and live here, and this thrilled us, we had confirmation that these countries are not destined to die at all. In these two years there has been a great exchange of knowledge and human relationships. If we do not build new forms of living, our countries are destined to depopulate, we need to reactivate the community”.
Raimondo Castellucci then took the floor: “We are a particular foundation, not banking and not family, but created by ten Abruzzo companies, which support projects that are not imposed from above, of co-planning, and which are sustainable over time and ‘scalable’, which arrive at the moments in which which a project expands, intercepts new interests, as has now happened with as many as 9 Municipalities with the Openpolis foundation, and the Special Office for Reconstruction”.
Raffaele Spadano, anthropologist, who also came to live in the subequana valley, recalled that “the problems of marginalization of internal areas are very complex, collective problems, which must therefore be addressed collectively, hence the important role of municipal administrations. Getting new inhabitants and those who already reside in these countries to communicate: this is Neo’s challenge, having absolute respect for the balance of the territory, meeting everyone’s needs and aspirations. Among the participants of previous projects there are those who remained to live here. This means strengthening the voice of these territories, also to ensure citizenship rights and essential services. often denied, as in all marginal areas. The ecosystem services that these territories guarantee must be known and which should also be recognized.”
For Open Polis, Alvino highlighted that, “our contribution is to bring the method of collecting evidence into Neo, because with the data you can have greater awareness of the territory and the processes that cross and modify it, with particular attention to the theme of living, that is, empty and uninhabited houses . Here with a particularity, that of post-seismic reconstruction, an opportunity that can become a waste if the homes remain unused, despite the large use of public resources”.
Raffaello Fico said: “The USRC will have to deal with the physical post-seismic reconstruction of public and private buildings for several more years, which would make no sense if we are not able to repopulate these wonderful villages, use the first and second homes, which are so beautiful and above all safe. seismically. We are at the government table to discuss the use of Restart funds for projects that are in line with the Neo project, which has opened a path here. Yesterday we opened Celestino’s path, this too is an example of social, immaterial and cultural reconstruction, and there too, as in the Neo project, the mayors’ ability to network was decisive”.
