Ora et labora
Basic information
Project Title
Ora et labora
Full project title
Convents and monasteries urban redevelopment project located in areas at risk of depopulation
Category
Prioritising the places and people that need it the most
Project Description
The phenomenon of depopulation of southern italy rural centers is reaching worrying levels.In these centers the community is mainly made up of old people.The departures in these areas of young people and especially workers causes a state of abandonment that invest people,buildings and services.Convents and monasteries were the economic and social protagonists of European society during past times.The project aims to create new economic models starting from the redevelopment of these buildings.
Geographical Scope
Regional
Project Region
Sicily, Italy
Urban or rural issues
Mainly rural
Physical or other transformations
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
EU Programme or fund
No
Description of the project
Summary
Process of depopulation of rural centres, especially in Southern Italy can be stopped starting by reclaiming spaces, in the hands of public authorities, represented by convents and monasteries in rural areas. No longer having their religious purpose, they remaining empty, unused spaces who contribute to fuel state of degradation that is disintegrating the economic and social fabric.In the past these places had a rich economic model.In convents, food products, pharmacopoeias and artisanal products were produced and sold.Thanks to intense cultural exchanges, technologies were developed and culture was propagated.Reclaiming these places by bringing not only the buildings but also their production models into the contemporary world would make it possible to reverse the trend and revive these territories as economic engines.The project's first point is to bring young people back to these areas through active work within a public remuneration system. It could be made by assistance to the elderly population and at the same time active models of productivity.The models of productivity of convents and monasteries would be moved as a modern vision of the activities of the past: botanical gardens for the pharmacopoeia becomes as research centers equipped with all the technologies necessary for the production of alternative treatments for the well-being of the population; laboratories for teaching ancient professions such as stone cutters, carpenters and decorators, goldsmiths, restoration that issue valid certificates for entry into the world of work, special masterclass held by the older population, production and sales of food, craft, pharmacopoeia products, through a single e-commerce platform for all the structures registered in this project, reception areas for cultural exchanges between researchers and students from other regions or nationalities who intend to carry out specific studies on territories.
Key objectives for sustainability
Redeveloping existing spaces by restoring these places to their original function as social aggregators, production centers of local products and conservation of the history of a place is the form of resilience that is most suitable for the rebirth of rural communities. Sustainability also lies in the reorganization of production models of the past which already had minimal environmental impact indices. Sale products by online platforms (e-commerce), with the consequent movement of goods by truck, will be compensated by the delivery of an area where the community will be able to plant trees and makes reforestation operas.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The choice to use the buildings that were once convents and monasteries lies in the fact that these places already have the required characteristics and still preserve in their memory the culture of "know-how" that has carried forward the European world for centuries. The organization and creation of botanical gardens specific to each territory, the creation of artisanal and artistic artefacts typical of that territory, the conservation of ancient knowledge and the creation of new knowledge are the aesthetic drivers of this project.
Key objectives for inclusion
Inclusion in this project is intergenerational. In a context of rural areas, affected by technological advancement that has produced social and productive isolation, introducing technologies and organizational models that place collaboration between knowledge in order to produce income is essential. On the one hand, assistance will be provided to the older community by involving them in all production levels, from masterclasses to the carrying out of productive activities suitable for the elderly population such as the production of preserved foods, artisanal products, natural remedies for physical well-being, from moreover, the collaboration with researchers and with those who will deal with the most technologically advanced production areas such as e-commerce management, will give rise to a form of intergenerational cooperation that will consolidate over time.
How Citizens benefit
The pilot project starts from the redevelopment of a Franciscan friary convent in a small rural town in the province of Messina, Malvagna. In this country the population is rapidly decreasing from 3000 citizens with an average age of 50 in 1990 to just over 300 citizens with an average age of 82 in 2023. This trend is comparable to many countries located in rural areas of southern Italy. If active projects are not made to attract the younger population to these countries, vast areas that were once anthropized will become depopulated and all the cultural heritage that was produced will be lost. We decided to involve the mayor of the municipality of Malvagna as the body that owns the convent, the councilor for social policies to evaluate the methods of care for the elderly. For greater speed in procedures, we envisage direct access to a European fund that will have to be created ad-hoc for entities that own real estate such as convents and monasteries that want to undertake this path.
Physical or other transformations
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Innovative character
On the one hand, all active intergenerational policies aim only at welfare. They create closed, well-defined communities with neither productive purpose. We think at the elderly only of the arrival point of a productivity life journey that has come to an end. There is no attention paid to the preservation of the historical, cultural and social memory that previous generations preserve. If these memories not passed down they will be lost. On the other hand, the redevelopment of historical and cultural buildings such as convents and monasteries involve only renovation and restoration. The buildings are restored, in most cases a contemporary art museum is inaugurated inside or with a collection that is culturally distant from the territory that hosts it or worse still they are used as conference rooms. These buildings, after a short period of use, lacking a concrete project that would lead them to be aggregation centers for the production of goods, culture and technologies, are closed and abandoned. The countries of southern Italy are full of these realities, splendid theatrical scenes completely clear of any meaning.
Disciplines/knowledge reflected
The union between knowledge and study of the area when we live and the daily use of technologies allowed us to think this idea of the future. Processes's simplicity is the guideline that characterizes the entire development of the project. It be derived from a clear field of knowledge able to designing in a holistic manner, abandoning anthropocentrism.
Methodology used
We used a methodological approach starting from the historical study of convents and monasteries places that was projected towards a systematic search for its possible reuses. We then extended our research to current models of active participation of the elderly population in European countries, focusing on the comparison between objectives and strategies used. Lastly, we turned our attention to sustainable production models that improve the social conditions of small communities by helping them to grow in an organic and environmentally sustainable way.
How stakeholders are engaged
At the moment, as we are still in the planning phase, we have only involved the local authorities directly involved. For a plan that involves the creation of an organizational model that allows the creation of further centers all linked to the same purpose of the pilot project, we envisage the direct involvement of the Italy Ministry of Labor and Social Policies and its direct interlocutor within the European Community for the creation of an ad-hoc fund with clear access methods.
Global challenges
One of the most important global challenges is the creation of sustainable models of development, especially in rural areas. Another global challenge is to create real job opportunities in peripheral areas while at the same time using technologies and preserving the intangible heritage of small communities. Finally, create a project for the redevelopment of historic buildings that presupposes and makes its reuse primary in an aggregative context self-powered by a production system to ensure that these places continue to live as protagonists and not as ghosts.
Learning transferred to other parties
This production model starts from religious architecture and its organizational capacity to generate goods and culture is applicable to all realities that reflect the same characteristics.
The specific common characteristic is that the architectural asset must be state-owned, belong to or be entrusted to the management of the municipality where the convent or monastery is located.
Identifying the other characteristics will be fundamental to create an organization that will take charge of channeling requests for access to the project and coordinating the various entities by bringing them together under a single rule.
The specific common characteristic is that the architectural asset must be state-owned, belong to or be entrusted to the management of the municipality where the convent or monastery is located.
Identifying the other characteristics will be fundamental to create an organization that will take charge of channeling requests for access to the project and coordinating the various entities by bringing them together under a single rule.
Keywords
inclusive
resilient
ecommerce
cultural
rural future
