Civil society and the city’s political world unite to defend the construction of the new HUB hospital in the Cosenza area, considered a strategic infrastructure for the entire province. The initiative was born after the meeting promoted by the “No SCIPPO” Committee, the Trade, Crafts and Productive Activities Council, the Piazza Spirito Santo Committee, the Saragat Cultural Club and the Riforma-Rivocati neighborhood committee.
Requested an open municipal council
Eighteen city councilors, with Ivan Commodaro as the first signatory, asked the mayor Franz Caruso and the president of the council Giuseppe Mazzuca to convene an open city council to discuss the move of the new HUB from Cosenza to Rende, foreseen by the recent managerial resolution n. 36 of 19 September 2025 of the Delegate Commissioner for regional healthcare construction.
According to the signatories, the Region’s decision to identify the Arcavacata di Rende area for the construction of the new hospital disregards the resolutions already approved by the Cosenza City Council, which in June 2022 had indicated Vagliolise as a suitable location.
Caruso and Mazzuca: “It’s not parochialism, but defense of the rights of the people of Cosenza”
Accepting the request, mayor Franz Caruso and president Giuseppe Mazzuca reiterate their desire to open the debate in the city. «Our position is clear: it is not about parochialism, but about protecting the right to health and the role of Cosenza as the capital. We recognize Unical’s right to have a university hospital, but this cannot happen to the detriment of the new provincial HUB.”
Both underline the need for an open discussion with political forces, professional categories, associative and entrepreneurial worlds, also recalling the structural critical issues of the Annunziata hospital, which require immediate redevelopment.
A mobilization for local healthcare
The promoting councilors denounce the risk of a “snatch to the detriment of the capital city”, arguing that moving the HUB to Rende would lead to a impoverishment of the Cosenza area and the loss of a fundamental garrison for the entire province.
The convocation of the open municipal council, which will be examined in the next few days, aims to involve citizens and local institutions in a battle that promises to be decisive for the future of the provincial healthcare system.