Calabrian Villages Listen: Rome conference launches a new territorial

Calabrian Villages Listen: conference highlights

On April 1, 2026, the Association "Borghi da Ri..Vivere" held the conference "Calabrian Villages Listen – Dialogues for a New Territorial Agenda" in the Sala Zuccari of Palazzo Giustiniani, Rome. Promoted with the support of Senator Clotilde Minasi, the event aimed to turn a regional manifesto into an operational program to support small historic towns in Calabria.

Main goals and topics

The conference sought to activate permanent consultative tables starting from the Manifesto drafted in Squillace (September 27, 2025). Key areas discussed included:

• Material and immaterial connections across territories: infrastructure, mobility and digital networks;
• Youth, culture and new economies: measures to generate jobs and attract residents;
• Local welfare and institutional networks to ensure services;
• Local development and cohesion: strategies for repopulation and community resilience;
• Return tourism and engagement with Calabrian communities abroad;
• Digitalization and south smart working as levers to make villages livable and appealing.

Participation and institutional role

More than a hundred attendees took part, including local administrators, mayors of the member villages, institutional representatives, journalists and regional stakeholders. Senator Minasi emphasized integrated policies addressing infrastructure, health services and opportunities for young people and introduced a bill proposal to incentivize fiscal residency transfers to villages with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants.

The Manifesto and participating villages

The Squillace Manifesto involves 26 Calabrian municipalities committed to areas ranging from welfare to new economies. The participating villages are:

• Altilia
• Aiello Calabro
• Amaroni
• Aprigliano
• Bianchi
• Camini
• Careri
• Centrache
• Civita
• Cropani
• Davoli
• Fabrizia
• Frascineto
• Gerocarne
• Guardavalle
• Nocera Terinese
• Laino Borgo
• Morano Calabro
• Palermiti
• Scigliano
• Petrizzi
• San Pietro in Amantea
• San Sostene
• Squillace
• Staiti
• Stalettì

Why this matters for villages

The conference highlighted the shift from symbolic recognition toward practical measures: building services, promoting community returns and leveraging slow tourism and authenticity as drivers of sustainable development. The proposed approaches aim to make villages livable through fiscal incentives, digital upskilling and integrated local projects.

Next steps

Outcomes from the Rome conference point to concrete follow-ups: the establishment of permanent working groups and ongoing dialogue with the national government to include the Manifesto’s proposals in operational plans. Interested readers should monitor the association and participating municipalities for updates and opportunities to engage in local initiatives.