«The work done for the university campus must be recognized Reggio Calabriaa project worth 4 million euros, but one wonders: what happened to the Agapi campus of Saline Jonichewhich should have included the university residence, the canteen, a sports center and training activities?”. Mayor Giuseppe Falcomatà raised this question during his speech on the sidelines of the preliminary work of the last city council meeting in 2024.
«The Agapi campus was presented by today’s protagonists themselves as an initiative destined to revolutionize a part of the city – added the mayor – I remember the meetings of past years with representatives of the University and Ministries, to present a project to be 90 million euros. What happened to him? So what is the truth? Will Reggio have two campuses, or has the first project been put aside in silence? And if so, we would like to understand why and how we can go from a 90 million campus to a 4 million one. Where did the 90 million of the Pnrr go? Building a campus is one thing, buying a structure to transform it into a university residence is another. The 4 million are welcome, or rather 1 plus 3, but we want to know what happened to the 90 million.” The mayor then asked the prime minister, Enzo Marra, to convene an ad hoc session on the future of the city’s training offer.
During his speech, Mayor Falcomatà returned to talking about the recent liveability ranking, underlining that, if on the one hand it was used by some political forces to “enjoy the situation”, on the other it aroused a positive reaction among citizens . «This ranking has revealed an often dormant feeling of identity – observed the mayor – It has made the people of Reggio say: “What ranking, let’s look at the real indicators, we don’t need rankings”. It must be said that the data in question are those of 2021, at a provincial level, and include municipalities that are not governed exclusively by the centre-left. If you isolate the data from Reggio, the numbers change. It is important to have the intellectual honesty to also consider the rankings of the Regions. It has gone unnoticed, for example, that Calabria is last in the wellbeing rankings. But let’s not argue about this: the rankings must be looked at with a sporting spirit, and those who comment on them must not attribute political responsibilities, unless they always want to do so.”
The mayor then touched on the topic of the ski facilities in Gambarie, recalling that they have been closed for 4 years now. «We don’t argue about this – he declared – but we stand alongside the Administration of Santo Stefano, because it is a problem that concerns our entire territory. I can’t be happy if something goes wrong just because I’m part of a different side than those who announced a solution.”
Responding to criticism on the absence of economic interventions, Falcomatà recalled the 20 million euros of the Pn Plus intended to support businesses and the economy, with initiatives for start-ups and training in sectors where training did not exist before. «Then – he continued – the opposition said that it is difficult to be a child in Reggio. These words do not recognize spaces for children. Yet, in Reggio you can be a child, not only in the city center, but also in other areas, such as in the square of the Marconi district, where before you couldn’t even play. In ten years we have gone from zero to 400 places in nursery schools.”
On the topic of the bridge over the Strait, the mayor clarified that the appeal presented to the TAR together with Villa San Giovanni «Does not concern the bridge itself, but the EIA-VAS procedures. As administrations, with Villa and Messina, we had asked for a more in-depth reflection, without wanting to replace the technicians, but with respect for what was declared by the ministries regarding the fragility of the project and the non-opportunity of starting a project and then modifying it during its course . We asked to be involved in the procedures, to participate in the discussions and to ensure that the territories were protagonists, but no one responded to us. Perhaps the funds for the Agapi campus ended up there, rather than in other places, in a 30 billion euro maneuver, where Reggio received only 4 million, compared to over a billion euros invested in the city for regeneration in recent years urban, services, welfare, infrastructure and work”.
On the question of the restoration of the Rabarama statue, the mayor specified: «We are waiting for the terms of a noose contract to expire which obliges us to turn to the artist for a sum of 300 thousand euros. Once they expire, we will do the restoration at more affordable prices.”
Finally, Falcomatà concluded by making a reminder about the waiting for the delegations of the Calabria Region to the Metropolitan City, which had to be conferred by December 31st of this year, as foreseen by an agreement signed with a detailed timetable. «What has prevented us from addressing many needs, municipalities are forced to turn to the Metropolitan City, draining resources from the budget or other sources. How many more things could we have done for the 97 municipalities if the regulatory provision had been respected? Unfortunately, in this battle, there were few notes of support for the area. We talk about rankings, but not about what the city could be like if we had delegations and functions. Finally, I ask my colleagues what they think about differentiated autonomy. When we talk about rankings, let’s do it with an overall evaluation that considers all the aspects linked to a specific theme.”