Prioritising the places and people that need it the most
Cultural heritage for Raising Naples
The culture of care, the care for culture: how the Cultural Heritage Regeneration transformed Sanità
A cooperative of young friends who have worked with enthusiasm for recovering and subsequently opening the Catacombs of San Gennaro, afterwards started a process to recover their local heritage and to bringing about the tangible revitalisation of the Sanità, a Naples' neighbourhood that was once prey to the Camorra, creating somewhere for arts and culture to flourish.
The culture of care and the care for culture: following this guideline this place has become a living and generative territory.
The culture of care and the care for culture: following this guideline this place has become a living and generative territory.
Italy
Local
Rione Sanità - Naples
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
Yes
2024-08-23
Yes
Creative Europe
No
No
As a representative of an organisation, in partnership with other organisations
Rione Sanità is one of the oldest neighborhoods of the city of Naples, just outside the city center. In ancient times, it was chosen as a burial site and still today you can visit Greek hypogea and Christian catacombs. In the XVII century, Rione Sanità became the place chosen by the nobles and the aristocracy to live. Popes, kings and cardinals used to pass through there on their way to the Royal Palace of Capodimonte.
At the beginning of the XIX century, then, the construction of a huge bridge marked the fate of our neighborhood: the impressive architecture that tops the Rione even today condemned it to isolation. For about two centuries the area experienced the condition of a ghetto cut off from the urban and social fabric of the city and became the breeding ground for poverty and allowed crime to thrive.
The story of La Paranza and its disruptive efforts to make the Catacombs one of Naples’ most popular tourist destinations began in 2006 when the cooperative was founded and started managing the Catacombs of San Gaudioso. In 2008 the restoration and public opening of the Catacombs of San Gennaro began, going from 6,000 visitors a year to 230,000. Today, 70 people are employed, 13,000 square meters of heritage have been restored, and a vast network of small cooperatives, artisans, spaces for cooperation and subsidiarity, merchant associations, educational centers, and support services for the most vulnerable has been created. This is the “Miracle of Rione Sanità,” made possible thanks to a grassroots model of cultural promotion that becomes a “heritage community” in accordance with the Faro Convention, focusing on the enhancement of historical and artistic assets as opportunities for social inclusion. The wealth generated supports a circuit of social economy aimed at fostering the creation of many businesses by free individuals who choose the path of cooperation—a model that ties economic action to principles of solidarity and reciprocity.
At the beginning of the XIX century, then, the construction of a huge bridge marked the fate of our neighborhood: the impressive architecture that tops the Rione even today condemned it to isolation. For about two centuries the area experienced the condition of a ghetto cut off from the urban and social fabric of the city and became the breeding ground for poverty and allowed crime to thrive.
The story of La Paranza and its disruptive efforts to make the Catacombs one of Naples’ most popular tourist destinations began in 2006 when the cooperative was founded and started managing the Catacombs of San Gaudioso. In 2008 the restoration and public opening of the Catacombs of San Gennaro began, going from 6,000 visitors a year to 230,000. Today, 70 people are employed, 13,000 square meters of heritage have been restored, and a vast network of small cooperatives, artisans, spaces for cooperation and subsidiarity, merchant associations, educational centers, and support services for the most vulnerable has been created. This is the “Miracle of Rione Sanità,” made possible thanks to a grassroots model of cultural promotion that becomes a “heritage community” in accordance with the Faro Convention, focusing on the enhancement of historical and artistic assets as opportunities for social inclusion. The wealth generated supports a circuit of social economy aimed at fostering the creation of many businesses by free individuals who choose the path of cooperation—a model that ties economic action to principles of solidarity and reciprocity.
youngers
heritage communities
generative local welfare
trust
freedom
La Paranza was created to provide opportunities for the youth of Rione Sanità, by sustainably and inclusively promoting the artistic and cultural heritage of one of the most historically troubled neighborhoods in Naples, marginalized and mistreated by a bridge built in the 19th century that led to a two-century-long ghettoization process.
This innovative experience of reviving historical and artistic assets coincides with the social, economic, and cultural rebirth of Rione Sanità. The choice of a growth model based on social entrepreneurship, which brings values as well as resources, also changes the socio-economic context and cultural references of younger generations, thanks to the cooperative’s and other local organizations’ commitment to promoting social capital and enhancing the skills of what we call “discarded stones” that become cornerstones of a new welfare system. The main beneficiaries are the youth of Rione Sanità, who are offered positive alternatives, concrete opportunities for personal and educational growth, travel experiences, exchanges, and networking. Employment integration pathways represent the natural continuation of the work carried out by the educational network, which supports minors in difficult situations, aimed at offering the possibility to stay in their homeland and contribute to the growth of their neighborhood.
“This cooperative of young people has undertaken an extraordinary task for the benefit of heritage and the people of Naples, creating a sense of ownership among the community for their local heritage. They have helped transforming a previously underdeveloped area into an attractive destination for tourists, while recovering a fascinating, hidden element of the city’s heritage. With great determination and ingenuity, La Paranza Cooperative has demonstrated how to care for heritage, in spite of limited resources,” emphasised the European Heritage Awards’ Jury in 2022.
This innovative experience of reviving historical and artistic assets coincides with the social, economic, and cultural rebirth of Rione Sanità. The choice of a growth model based on social entrepreneurship, which brings values as well as resources, also changes the socio-economic context and cultural references of younger generations, thanks to the cooperative’s and other local organizations’ commitment to promoting social capital and enhancing the skills of what we call “discarded stones” that become cornerstones of a new welfare system. The main beneficiaries are the youth of Rione Sanità, who are offered positive alternatives, concrete opportunities for personal and educational growth, travel experiences, exchanges, and networking. Employment integration pathways represent the natural continuation of the work carried out by the educational network, which supports minors in difficult situations, aimed at offering the possibility to stay in their homeland and contribute to the growth of their neighborhood.
“This cooperative of young people has undertaken an extraordinary task for the benefit of heritage and the people of Naples, creating a sense of ownership among the community for their local heritage. They have helped transforming a previously underdeveloped area into an attractive destination for tourists, while recovering a fascinating, hidden element of the city’s heritage. With great determination and ingenuity, La Paranza Cooperative has demonstrated how to care for heritage, in spite of limited resources,” emphasised the European Heritage Awards’ Jury in 2022.
The spread of creativity of these last years is no longer just about how to enhance and maintain cultural heritage but has moved towards the creation of new art - in its wider sense- that permits the evolution of the Rione into a creative neighbourood.
Many buildings and streets of the Rione started to be “lighted up” by the intervention of international street artists.
The spanish street artist, Tono Cruz, guided a series of practical workshops and theory lessons for more than 60 young people: result of this collaboration has been the work “Luce”. After the lockdown the artist paid homage to the city with another artwork: “Totò e Peppino”. The work represents the famous coffee scene between Totò and Peppino De Filippo taken from the movie "La banda degli onesti".
Mono Gonzalez, a Chilean artist and set designer, "turned-on" the bell tower and the rectory of the Fontanelle cemetery with his colourful artworks. The artist Jorit guided the works of a group of youth from the district, teaching them the mural art technique. Francisco Bosoletti, from Argentina, is the author of the huge artwork "Resis-Ti amo", which occupies the entire facade of the basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità. “Perseveranza '' by Matias Noguera Matu, on the external wall of the basilica San Severo Fuori le Mura, represents an homage to the music produced inside by the orchestra Sanitansamble.
In 2019 the international artist Jago decided to donate his sculpture named “Il Figlio Velato” to the neighbourood and its citizens. During the quarantine, in 2020, Jago decided to establish his laboratory in the Rione, in one of the Rione Sanità's churches, S. Aspreno ai Crociferi (it began “Jago Museum” from 2022) This 17th century church has been finally reopened after more than 40 years. The artist created two other works inspired by the events of the neighbourhood, which had a huge international echo and attracted tourists from all over the world: “Look down” and "La Pietà”.
Many buildings and streets of the Rione started to be “lighted up” by the intervention of international street artists.
The spanish street artist, Tono Cruz, guided a series of practical workshops and theory lessons for more than 60 young people: result of this collaboration has been the work “Luce”. After the lockdown the artist paid homage to the city with another artwork: “Totò e Peppino”. The work represents the famous coffee scene between Totò and Peppino De Filippo taken from the movie "La banda degli onesti".
Mono Gonzalez, a Chilean artist and set designer, "turned-on" the bell tower and the rectory of the Fontanelle cemetery with his colourful artworks. The artist Jorit guided the works of a group of youth from the district, teaching them the mural art technique. Francisco Bosoletti, from Argentina, is the author of the huge artwork "Resis-Ti amo", which occupies the entire facade of the basilica of Santa Maria della Sanità. “Perseveranza '' by Matias Noguera Matu, on the external wall of the basilica San Severo Fuori le Mura, represents an homage to the music produced inside by the orchestra Sanitansamble.
In 2019 the international artist Jago decided to donate his sculpture named “Il Figlio Velato” to the neighbourood and its citizens. During the quarantine, in 2020, Jago decided to establish his laboratory in the Rione, in one of the Rione Sanità's churches, S. Aspreno ai Crociferi (it began “Jago Museum” from 2022) This 17th century church has been finally reopened after more than 40 years. The artist created two other works inspired by the events of the neighbourhood, which had a huge international echo and attracted tourists from all over the world: “Look down” and "La Pietà”.
We have invested in the "discarded stones," in those young people who would have been excluded from society because they lacked educational qualifications or had a history of deviance and who, instead, became the "cornerstones" of a generative welfare system. They have become the leading actors of a process of self-development that has reduced economic inequality by improving the social status of previously marginalized groups and that has consolidated community identity and strengthened social cohesion.
This system became so crucial during and after the pandemic, when young people’s fears grew, and it seemed impossible even to wish for and imagine the future. To work for La Paranza allowed 35 boys and girls, hired after the pandemic, to have trust in their abilities and capabilities to transform their context. They became aware that, thanks to their role, they could give others courage, hope, and opportunities.
In the cooperative, from its foundation in 2006 to today, employment growth has gone from 5 to 70 workers, 50% of whom are selected among the very young people attending the educational centers in the neighborhood; the average age of the cooperators is 30; about 40% have improved their educational qualifications after their experience in the cooperative; 75% have chosen to live in the Rione.
And a vast network of small cooperatives, artisans, spaces for cooperation and subsidiarity, merchant associations, educational centers, and support services for the most vulnerable has been created.
The wealth generated supports a circuit of social economy aimed at fostering the creation of many businesses by free individuals who choose the path of cooperation—a model that ties economic action to principles of solidarity, reciprocity, collective commitment to the common good, and people’s happiness. The fundamental goal is to grow in order to create jobs, not to increase profits.
This system became so crucial during and after the pandemic, when young people’s fears grew, and it seemed impossible even to wish for and imagine the future. To work for La Paranza allowed 35 boys and girls, hired after the pandemic, to have trust in their abilities and capabilities to transform their context. They became aware that, thanks to their role, they could give others courage, hope, and opportunities.
In the cooperative, from its foundation in 2006 to today, employment growth has gone from 5 to 70 workers, 50% of whom are selected among the very young people attending the educational centers in the neighborhood; the average age of the cooperators is 30; about 40% have improved their educational qualifications after their experience in the cooperative; 75% have chosen to live in the Rione.
And a vast network of small cooperatives, artisans, spaces for cooperation and subsidiarity, merchant associations, educational centers, and support services for the most vulnerable has been created.
The wealth generated supports a circuit of social economy aimed at fostering the creation of many businesses by free individuals who choose the path of cooperation—a model that ties economic action to principles of solidarity, reciprocity, collective commitment to the common good, and people’s happiness. The fundamental goal is to grow in order to create jobs, not to increase profits.
We have always involved the community. Everyone, nobody excluded, should have the possibility to benefit from cultural heritage and have the right to decide how to enhance it. This is what has happened at Rione Sanità and it is the concrete manifestation of what happens when the principles of the Faro Convention are fully implemented. The case of Paranza shows that cultural heritages have not only an artistic and aesthetic function, nor even less a touristic one, but are capable of truly affecting processes of urban regeneration and social inclusion.
Young people are the ones that, through education-for-beauty projects, help adolescents to recognize themselves as an active part of the heritage community by ensuring that the story of the Paranza and Rione Sanità is continuously regenerated. The individual story of each of them finds space and takes on value within a collective story.
The “commons”, the elements of cultural heritage that we have regenerated for 18 years served to promote the healthy growth of our young people. The cooperative used the background of the Cultural Heritage sites to guide a reopening process of the district, in order to restart again the cultural and social engine providing the fundamental services and welfare needed in the neighbourhood. The guided tour and the reopening of the archaeological and historical sites are only a part of the cultural services offered by La Paranza, indeed this main core activities activate a cascade structure of services like monitoring services on the “cultural health” of the district, reporting the condition of school services, thanks to the narrow net of cooperation with the school entities on the territory, monitoring even the accessibility of the youth to their cultural heritage, studying visiting path to offer the best experience to understand the value of the territory.
Young people are the ones that, through education-for-beauty projects, help adolescents to recognize themselves as an active part of the heritage community by ensuring that the story of the Paranza and Rione Sanità is continuously regenerated. The individual story of each of them finds space and takes on value within a collective story.
The “commons”, the elements of cultural heritage that we have regenerated for 18 years served to promote the healthy growth of our young people. The cooperative used the background of the Cultural Heritage sites to guide a reopening process of the district, in order to restart again the cultural and social engine providing the fundamental services and welfare needed in the neighbourhood. The guided tour and the reopening of the archaeological and historical sites are only a part of the cultural services offered by La Paranza, indeed this main core activities activate a cascade structure of services like monitoring services on the “cultural health” of the district, reporting the condition of school services, thanks to the narrow net of cooperation with the school entities on the territory, monitoring even the accessibility of the youth to their cultural heritage, studying visiting path to offer the best experience to understand the value of the territory.
The story of Paranza and its disruptive action to make the Catacombs of San Gennaro one of the favorite tourist destinations in Naples begins in 2006, when the cooperative began managing the Catacombs of San Gaudioso; in 2008, in agreement with the Archdiocese of Naples and with the support of the Fondazione CON IL SUD, the recovery and opening to the public of the Catacombs of San Gennaro began. To these we will add in the coming months the Fontanelle Cemetery, another common good that we will return to the city through a special public-private partnership with the Council of Naples.
The choice of a growth model based on social entrepreneurship, which brings values as well as resources, also changes the socio-economic context and cultural references of younger generations. Employment integration pathways represent the natural continuation of the work carried out by the educational network, which supports minors in difficult situations, aimed at offering the possibility to stay in their homeland and contribute to the growth of their neighborhood.
All the entities come together in the San Gennaro Co-Operation Association, a network of non-profit bodies in the Rione Sanità, a pillar of the San Gennaro Community Foundation founded in 2014 to give stability to what has been achieved and promote new projects: a "net" of donors, cooperatives and associations that constantly work with and for this neighborhood to change its fame and essence.
The La Paranza Cooperative joins various national and international networks:
- Member of the Europa Nostra Organization
- Member of the "Future for Religious Heritage Organization"
- Member of the "Rete delle Culture": established in 2022, it associates Third Sector entities that work in the cultural and social field.
- Member of the Faro Italia Network; in addition to being a member, the Cooperative is part of the Technical-Scientific Committee, a body supporting the work of the Italian Office of the Council of Europe.
The choice of a growth model based on social entrepreneurship, which brings values as well as resources, also changes the socio-economic context and cultural references of younger generations. Employment integration pathways represent the natural continuation of the work carried out by the educational network, which supports minors in difficult situations, aimed at offering the possibility to stay in their homeland and contribute to the growth of their neighborhood.
All the entities come together in the San Gennaro Co-Operation Association, a network of non-profit bodies in the Rione Sanità, a pillar of the San Gennaro Community Foundation founded in 2014 to give stability to what has been achieved and promote new projects: a "net" of donors, cooperatives and associations that constantly work with and for this neighborhood to change its fame and essence.
The La Paranza Cooperative joins various national and international networks:
- Member of the Europa Nostra Organization
- Member of the "Future for Religious Heritage Organization"
- Member of the "Rete delle Culture": established in 2022, it associates Third Sector entities that work in the cultural and social field.
- Member of the Faro Italia Network; in addition to being a member, the Cooperative is part of the Technical-Scientific Committee, a body supporting the work of the Italian Office of the Council of Europe.
La Paranza Cooperative’s team includes archaeologists, restorers and art historians involved in the study, supervision and restoration of the frescoes and mosaics in the Catacombs.
The creation of a network of third-sector businesses already active in the district has favoured the engagement of profesisonals by different fields.
20 YEARS OF EFFORT HAVE GENERATED BIG RESULTS:
• Sanitansamble, an orchestra for children and youth • Ajunior orchestra for kids
• L'Altra Casa (The Other House), a reception centre for mothers and children
• Sanità Music Studio, a recording studio
• Iron Angels, a creative metal workshop
• La Casa del Monacone, a Bed & Breakfast converted from an old convent
• Accademia della Sanità, a drama workshop
• La Casa dei Cristallini, an after-school and play space for children
• Cristallini73, building have become public spaces where young people from the neighbourhood can practice theatre and sports for free.
• Over 200 jobs, including tourist guides, dance and drama instructors, technicians, maintenance workers and other professions related to the activities of the cooperatives operating in the district.
In every case many actors partecipat to urban regeneration process, like in the last occasion in which architects, cultural operators, art historians, sociologists, educators, psychologists and proximity operators, public bodies and citizens cooperated in the project that the international architect Renzo Piano donated to the Rione Sanità for the redevelopment of the importance of the Fontanelle area.
The creation of a network of third-sector businesses already active in the district has favoured the engagement of profesisonals by different fields.
20 YEARS OF EFFORT HAVE GENERATED BIG RESULTS:
• Sanitansamble, an orchestra for children and youth • Ajunior orchestra for kids
• L'Altra Casa (The Other House), a reception centre for mothers and children
• Sanità Music Studio, a recording studio
• Iron Angels, a creative metal workshop
• La Casa del Monacone, a Bed & Breakfast converted from an old convent
• Accademia della Sanità, a drama workshop
• La Casa dei Cristallini, an after-school and play space for children
• Cristallini73, building have become public spaces where young people from the neighbourhood can practice theatre and sports for free.
• Over 200 jobs, including tourist guides, dance and drama instructors, technicians, maintenance workers and other professions related to the activities of the cooperatives operating in the district.
In every case many actors partecipat to urban regeneration process, like in the last occasion in which architects, cultural operators, art historians, sociologists, educators, psychologists and proximity operators, public bodies and citizens cooperated in the project that the international architect Renzo Piano donated to the Rione Sanità for the redevelopment of the importance of the Fontanelle area.
In 2001 a new parish priest, Don Antonio Loffredo, arrived at Rione Sanità and with him, a new gaze also arrived. He was able to see opportunity where degradation reigned, a gaze that went beyond the Bridge and nurtured the young people's desire for redemption by appealing to their sense of belonging so that they might not leave.
However, we needed to turn this awareness into action. To make the seed of change grow, Don Antonio did something so simple and at the same time so revolutionary: he trusted us. Only then did we find the courage to stay, we found the courage to act.
Not just understanding, not pity, not assistance. Trust.
On these pillars we have built the vision that still inspires us today: we have decided to take care of the cultural heritage of the hitherto neglected Rione Sanità, to create happiness and to change the destiny of our neighborhood and, therefore, the destiny of our community.
Our mission was to open up the "ghetto" and create job opportunities for young people, attracting tourists from all over the world to the Rione Sanità, an area that Neapolitans themselves did not want to enter. Living in a city of saints and miracles, we have learned that what seems impossible can only be met with the unpredictable.
This is the “Miracle of Rione Sanità,” made possible thanks to a grassroots model of cultural promotion that becomes a “heritage community” in accordance with the Faro Convention, focusing on the enhancement of historical and artistic assets as opportunities for social inclusion and job creation through an efficient and non-profit entrepreneurial model based on a culture of cooperation. The wealth generated supports a circuit of social economy aimed at fostering the creation of many businesses by free individuals who choose the path of cooperation—a model that ties economic action to principles of solidarity, reciprocity, collective commitment to the common good, and people’s happiness.
However, we needed to turn this awareness into action. To make the seed of change grow, Don Antonio did something so simple and at the same time so revolutionary: he trusted us. Only then did we find the courage to stay, we found the courage to act.
Not just understanding, not pity, not assistance. Trust.
On these pillars we have built the vision that still inspires us today: we have decided to take care of the cultural heritage of the hitherto neglected Rione Sanità, to create happiness and to change the destiny of our neighborhood and, therefore, the destiny of our community.
Our mission was to open up the "ghetto" and create job opportunities for young people, attracting tourists from all over the world to the Rione Sanità, an area that Neapolitans themselves did not want to enter. Living in a city of saints and miracles, we have learned that what seems impossible can only be met with the unpredictable.
This is the “Miracle of Rione Sanità,” made possible thanks to a grassroots model of cultural promotion that becomes a “heritage community” in accordance with the Faro Convention, focusing on the enhancement of historical and artistic assets as opportunities for social inclusion and job creation through an efficient and non-profit entrepreneurial model based on a culture of cooperation. The wealth generated supports a circuit of social economy aimed at fostering the creation of many businesses by free individuals who choose the path of cooperation—a model that ties economic action to principles of solidarity, reciprocity, collective commitment to the common good, and people’s happiness.
The instruments that we have used to manage our extraordinary sites and to generate happiness, are:
1. We have invested in youth entrepreneurship, in the ability of young people to be changemakers. Investing in youth entrepreneurship means not only creating jobs but entrusting each young person with the responsibility to be a key player in the process of change. La Paranza has 0 employees and 70 changemakers. Young people are the core of our heritage community. They welcome and guide visitors through the Rione, they collaborate with the local educational network, and they support events and folk festivals that allow traditions to continue.
2. We have chosen the way of cooperation: the Paranza is a social cooperative, that is, an enterprise that does not aim at profit but at collective benefit and social utility. Doing business through the cooperative model has enabled us to link economic action to the principles of solidarity and reciprocity by putting people at the center.
Our experience managing the Catacombs of Naples has shown that Cultural Heritage is the condicio sine qua non for both the individual and local development.
3. We have focused on the decisive role that the for-profit world can play in building a heritage community. All funds used come from the private sector because it is capable of responding quickly to the urgency of doing. Major donors are among the founding members of the San Gennaro Community Foundation established in 2014 to respond organically to the needs of the area along with more than 30 local nonprofits organizations.
4. We have always involved the community. Everyone, nobody excluded, should have the possibility to benefit from cultural heritage and have the right to decide how to enhance it. This is what has happened at Rione Sanità and it is the concrete manifestation of what happens when the principles of the Faro Convention are fully implemented.
1. We have invested in youth entrepreneurship, in the ability of young people to be changemakers. Investing in youth entrepreneurship means not only creating jobs but entrusting each young person with the responsibility to be a key player in the process of change. La Paranza has 0 employees and 70 changemakers. Young people are the core of our heritage community. They welcome and guide visitors through the Rione, they collaborate with the local educational network, and they support events and folk festivals that allow traditions to continue.
2. We have chosen the way of cooperation: the Paranza is a social cooperative, that is, an enterprise that does not aim at profit but at collective benefit and social utility. Doing business through the cooperative model has enabled us to link economic action to the principles of solidarity and reciprocity by putting people at the center.
Our experience managing the Catacombs of Naples has shown that Cultural Heritage is the condicio sine qua non for both the individual and local development.
3. We have focused on the decisive role that the for-profit world can play in building a heritage community. All funds used come from the private sector because it is capable of responding quickly to the urgency of doing. Major donors are among the founding members of the San Gennaro Community Foundation established in 2014 to respond organically to the needs of the area along with more than 30 local nonprofits organizations.
4. We have always involved the community. Everyone, nobody excluded, should have the possibility to benefit from cultural heritage and have the right to decide how to enhance it. This is what has happened at Rione Sanità and it is the concrete manifestation of what happens when the principles of the Faro Convention are fully implemented.
The European recognition has further highlighted the impact and specificities of the regeneration process initiated by La Paranza in Rione Sanità across the continent, facilitating the rapid dissemination of its bottom-up heritage promotion methodology and its social innovation characteristics. This path reached its climax during the week of March 13-18, 2023, when Rione Sanità became the European Residence of sixteen young professionals (urban planners, art historians, archaeologists, project managers) from 13 different countries, eager to explore and study the “Sanità method,” curious to understand the community’s role in the neighborhood’s urban regeneration and social cohesion strengthening process. This is the first European residency focused on Cultural Heritage and Youth, as part of the broader Europa Nostra network project, “European Cultural Heritage Agora: Empowering Europe’s Civil Society Movement for Heritage,” co-financed by the European Union’s Creative Europe program to support cultural ecosystems, making them stronger, more resilient, innovative, and democratic, promoting a people-centered approach and engaging civil society in cultural heritage governance.
The guiding theme of the five workshop days was the Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society, better known as the Faro Convention, adopted by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in 2005. A revolutionary manifesto that puts people and human values at the center of heritage practice, recognizing individual and collective responsibility for cultural heritage, and emphasizing the extraordinary contribution that heritage communities can make in defining and managing it. These are the principles and values that have always inspired La Paranza’s journey, which from the beginning chose a heritage protection model centered on people, communities, and sustainable development, focusing on social entrepreneurship guided by the principles of civil economy.
The guiding theme of the five workshop days was the Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society, better known as the Faro Convention, adopted by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers in 2005. A revolutionary manifesto that puts people and human values at the center of heritage practice, recognizing individual and collective responsibility for cultural heritage, and emphasizing the extraordinary contribution that heritage communities can make in defining and managing it. These are the principles and values that have always inspired La Paranza’s journey, which from the beginning chose a heritage protection model centered on people, communities, and sustainable development, focusing on social entrepreneurship guided by the principles of civil economy.
In 2023 for the catalog “Cultural Heritage in Action”, the European Union decided to present the efforts of La Paranza with this title: “Caring for cultural heritage is caring for people”.
This is our way to face the issues that have always affected our city: poverty, social fragmentation, and decay could destroy the beauty of one of the capitals of the Mediterranean basin. This is the way that we have chosen to address the major challenges of our contemporaneity: inequalities and social exclusion, rapid urbanization, distrust in politics, and climate change.
The Rione Sanità, one of the most ancient districts in Naples, boasts a rich cultural heritage. It holds catacombs from the Hellenistic and Christian eras, including two still existing: the San Gennaro and San Gaudiso. However, it has suffered serious decline, with high poverty and crime rates. This has particularly affected the youth, with high rates of discontinuation of training programmes (27.6%) and youth unemployment (42%). Young people are often marginalised, sometimes leading to their participation in organised crime. The challenge was to create job opportunities for them through the enhancement of cultural heritage.
After years of neglect, the catacombs of Naples, which are privately owned by the Vatican, were entrusted to La Paranza social cooperative and reopened to the public. Through heritage, the cooperative empowered young people, created a safer environment in the Rione Sanità and revitalised the entire district.
This is also our way to contrast gentrification’s effects. Tourism-generated richness has allowed us to reduce economic inequalities and strengthen social cohesion. And if it is up to the young people to decide whether to stay and to take care of their local area to improve it, you can be sure that they will be the very first to do everything they can to counter the negative effects of gentrification, especially those related to the loss of cultural identity.
This is our way to face the issues that have always affected our city: poverty, social fragmentation, and decay could destroy the beauty of one of the capitals of the Mediterranean basin. This is the way that we have chosen to address the major challenges of our contemporaneity: inequalities and social exclusion, rapid urbanization, distrust in politics, and climate change.
The Rione Sanità, one of the most ancient districts in Naples, boasts a rich cultural heritage. It holds catacombs from the Hellenistic and Christian eras, including two still existing: the San Gennaro and San Gaudiso. However, it has suffered serious decline, with high poverty and crime rates. This has particularly affected the youth, with high rates of discontinuation of training programmes (27.6%) and youth unemployment (42%). Young people are often marginalised, sometimes leading to their participation in organised crime. The challenge was to create job opportunities for them through the enhancement of cultural heritage.
After years of neglect, the catacombs of Naples, which are privately owned by the Vatican, were entrusted to La Paranza social cooperative and reopened to the public. Through heritage, the cooperative empowered young people, created a safer environment in the Rione Sanità and revitalised the entire district.
This is also our way to contrast gentrification’s effects. Tourism-generated richness has allowed us to reduce economic inequalities and strengthen social cohesion. And if it is up to the young people to decide whether to stay and to take care of their local area to improve it, you can be sure that they will be the very first to do everything they can to counter the negative effects of gentrification, especially those related to the loss of cultural identity.
The cooperative La Paranza presented the process of social regeneration of the Rione Sanità to the Group of Experts on Cultural Heritage that met in Brussels on 9 April 2024. The invitation came directly from the European Commission – Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (EAC) – convinced that “the experience of La Paranza – which has managed the Catacombs of Naples since 2009 – can serve as an example to other institutions and administrations in Europe”. The case was presented in a session dedicated to social inclusion through cultural heritage . Since 2019, the European Commission has coordinated the work of a group of experts on cultural heritage to promote public policies that guarantee the value and long-term sustainability of Europe's cultural heritage.
From its foundation in 2006 to today, employment growth has gone from 5 to 70 workers, 50% of whom are selected among the very young people attending the educational centers in the neighborhood; the average age of the cooperators is 30; about 40% have improved their educational qualifications after their experience in the cooperative; 75% have chosen to live in the Rione; there are over 14 thousand square meters of cultural heritage recovered in eighteen years between churches, catacombs, frescoes and other pieces of "cultural heritage"
In the 2023 August 28 we had the reopening the last of the Church, Santa Maria Maddalena ai Cristallini, architectural jewel closed for almost four decades: embellished with murals by the great artists Mono González and Tono Cruz, all repainted blue by the boys of the district, it is experienced as a true community church.
The Paranza has made the “Restanza” concrete, that is, the “attitude of those who, despite the difficulties and driven by desire, remain in their homeland, with proactive intentions and renewal initiatives ” (Accademia della Crusca, 2023).
From its foundation in 2006 to today, employment growth has gone from 5 to 70 workers, 50% of whom are selected among the very young people attending the educational centers in the neighborhood; the average age of the cooperators is 30; about 40% have improved their educational qualifications after their experience in the cooperative; 75% have chosen to live in the Rione; there are over 14 thousand square meters of cultural heritage recovered in eighteen years between churches, catacombs, frescoes and other pieces of "cultural heritage"
In the 2023 August 28 we had the reopening the last of the Church, Santa Maria Maddalena ai Cristallini, architectural jewel closed for almost four decades: embellished with murals by the great artists Mono González and Tono Cruz, all repainted blue by the boys of the district, it is experienced as a true community church.
The Paranza has made the “Restanza” concrete, that is, the “attitude of those who, despite the difficulties and driven by desire, remain in their homeland, with proactive intentions and renewal initiatives ” (Accademia della Crusca, 2023).
