Around seventy municipalities financed and 180 new entrepreneurial activities launched. These are the results of the «Abita Borghi Montani» tender launched by the Calabria Region, a tender that provides for an «active residence contribution in favor of individuals who go to reside in municipalities with a population of up to 3000 inhabitants».
The tender was presented at a press conference in Catanzaro by the regional councilor Gianluca Gallo together with the general director of the Uoa Mountain Policies, Domenico Pallaria, in the presence of the mayors and administrators of the municipalities eligible for funding, some of whom signed the agreement with the Region this morning. The objective of the tender – it was highlighted in the meeting with journalists – is to «foster the repopulation of Calabrian municipalities with less than 3000 inhabitants and facilitate their economic revitalization and urban regeneration: it should be noted that over 100 people, including pensioners and agile workers, have chosen to move to these small towns».
A measure that is currently experimental and financed with 4 million euros
«These are villages – commented Gallo – that absolutely must be repopulated. This measure, currently experimental and financed with around 4 million euros, can and must be implemented in the future, because it represents a concrete and significant signal for the internal areas of our region. The measure is aimed at Calabrians who wish to return, but also at those who are not Calabrian and decide to transfer their residence to this extraordinary region. We are talking about villages where the cost of living is sustainable, the air is healthy and the services are on a human scale. The Calabria Region’s investment amounted to 5 million, aimed at promoting and implementing interventions for the protection and valorisation of the mountains and support measures in favor of totally and partially mountain municipalities. Regional councilors Elisabetta Santoianni and Enzo Bruno also participated in the meeting, among others.