The Campagnano is not just a river, it is a thin line of identity, a breath that separates and unites two cities that have always seen each other as sisters and rivals. Cosenza and Rende live in a fragile balance, divided by a stream that flows like a stubborn thought. On the one hand the ancient city, which defends its history, on the other the university city, projected towards the future. Now, on that line that has marked borders and encounters for centuries, the most delicate game is being played, that of the new hospital.
The Region has been deciding for months now. The new health center will be built in the Rocchi district, in Arcavacata, next to the University of Calabria. It is a choice that, on a technical level, appears almost inevitable. The proximity to the Medicine degree course (and not the faculty as it is mistakenly indicated), the possibility of combining research and clinics, the accessibility of the infrastructure: everything contributes to making it an ideal site. But what is logical is not always right in the eyes of those who fear losing a piece of their identity.
Because Cosenza doesn’t want to give up. The Annunziata, with its ancient walls and the wards that have welcomed the suffering of an entire province for eighty-six years, is not just a hospital, it is the symbol of this city. It is memory, identity, belonging. Franz Caruso, mayor of Cosenza who feels he has been robbed of his healthcare heart, is fighting to defend it. A difficult, almost romantic battle against a process that is now clear and practically irreversible. According to former parliamentarian Giacomo Mancini, the mayor «did not touch the ball in the derby with Rende. And without functions, the city dies.” The president of the urban planning commission, Francesco Turco, tries to smooth out the edges: «Mayor Caruso and the majority have been arguing for some time: the polyclinic or university hospital in Arcavacata is welcome, but not at the expense of the Hub hospital in Cosenza». The FdI Coordination also met to discuss the future role of the Annunziata. On the other hand, Sandro Principe talks about a dream that comes true after thirty-five years of projects, papers, visions. A dream that for Rende means progress, but for Cosenza it sounds like a defeat. In the game of bell towers, the new hospital has become a terrain of political identity even before healthcare.
Carlo Guccione, a critical voice within the same broad Cosenza camp, calls for clarity: «The time for protests is over. The Region has chosen, Inail has financed, Rende has already started the planning. The robbery occurred in the silence of those who should have spoken first.” And the documents confirm it.
Now the political lexicon is enriched with new words: “Citadel of health”, “redevelopment of the Annunziata”, “integrated centre”. Inail provides 45 million euros for the old hospital, but the doubt remains as to what will actually become of it. L’Annunziata, today, is a constellation of structures that brings together the main Hub, the Mariano Santo, the Santa Barbara of Rogliano. Tomorrow, in the new health plan, Arcavacata will become the center, and Cosenza a suburb to be rethought. The challenge, then, is no longer on the “where”, but on the “how”. The new Polyclinic will be built in Rende, and Cosenza will have to defend the role of its Hub hospital, as happens in Catanzaro with the balance found between the Puglia area and the university Polyclinic. A possible coexistence but which requires political vision, not just emotional reaction. A principle shared by Fabrizio Falvo, of Cosenza Futura: «If a hospital and a polyclinic can coexist in Catanzaro, it is not clear why there shouldn’t be a large city hospital and a future university structure in Cosenza».
