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The monumental complex of San Domenico opens its doors to the degree courses in Nursing and Physiotherapy at the University of Calabria. The structure was inaugurated this morning in Cosenza, after over three years of renovation, recovery and valorisation works. During the ceremony, the keys were handed over to the rector Gianluigi Greco and the new academic year of the Health Professions was opened.
The intervention, for which 6 million euros were invested, aims to consolidate the presence of Unical in the historic center, where around a thousand students are expected to be fully operational.
Caruso: «A thousand young people who will experience this area and the city»
«We believed in it and we worked hard – said mayor Franz Caruso -. In three years we have delivered this wonderful monumental complex to the city, making it available to that world towards which we have turned our attention from the first moment: the university world. Bringing two degree courses from the health center here, Nursing and Physiotherapy, means hosting, when it becomes fully operational in the two-year period, a thousand students, a thousand young people who will experience this area and the city.”
The mayor underlined the value of the property’s university use: «We have brought this property back to life, we have not filled it with something static, but we have made it a dynamic entity. Here there will be culture, training, professions and education.”
Caruso recalled the collaboration with the former rector Nicola Leone and with the current rector Greco, also announcing new funding to improve the structure.
The Palazzo Ferrari hypothesis for university accommodation
Among the next objectives indicated by the mayor is the availability of accommodation for students. «We are now trying to do more by creating the conditions to also guarantee accommodation for our university students. This is why my idea is to put Palazzo Ferrari up for sale, changing its intended use and making it a university residence.”
In retracing the stages of the intervention, Caruso recalled the acquisition of the premises during the administration of Salvatore Perugini and the contribution of councilor Francesco Alimena. He then thanked the engineer Luigi Zinno and the technical structure involved in the recovery of CIS funding and in the planning, the director of Public Works Salvatore Modesto, the project manager Maria Colucci, the councilor Damiano Covelli and the general secretary Virginia Milano.
Greco: «More functional spaces and new canteen areas»
The rector Gianluigi Greco expressed satisfaction with the delivery of the spaces: «The new premises, now even more functional and equipped, enriched by the new canteen areas, will allow us to guarantee excellent teaching for the Nursing and Physiotherapy courses, which in this very location will continue to train the healthcare professionals of tomorrow».
«With the Municipality we share the commitment to enhance the heart of the capital city, placing students increasingly at the center of our project», added Greco. The rector announced new collaborations with the municipal administration, in which the International Center for Telesian, Brunian and Campanellian studies will also play a role, the creation of which is due to the late Professor Nuccio Ordine.
Professor Vincenzo Pezzi, director of the Department of Pharmacy and Health and Nutrition Sciences, welcomed the freshmen and proposed the establishment of a further training course: the two-year master’s degree in specialist nursing.
Training and work for young people in the area
The councilor for public works Damiano Covelli underlined the contribution of the intervention to the economic, cultural and social growth of the city. The medical director of the Cosenza hospital, Pino Pasqua, highlighted the need to offer young professionals the opportunity to train and work in their own land: «The hospital invests in our young people because it is a strategic operation of growth and progress».
Father Adriano Titone, rector of the church of San Domenico, also spoke at the ceremony, moderated by Fabio Vincenzi, and brought greetings from the metropolitan archbishop Giovanni Checchinato. The morning ended with the opening declaration of the academic year of the Health Professions and the visit of the rector and the mayor to the new spaces.