Cosenza is preparing to welcome a new generation of students in the heart of its historic center. Thanks to the agreement signed this morning at Palazzo dei Bruzi, between the mayor of Cosenza, Franz Carusoand the rector of the University of Calabria, Nicola Leonethe monumental complex of San Domenico officially becomes the pole of the health professions of theUnicalhosting both courses activated in this area by the Department of Pharmacy and Health and Nutrition Sciences directed by Vincenzo Pezzi. In fact, the ancient building that for 18 months has already housed the degree course in nursing, will also see the arrival of physiotherapy students, exceeding the threshold of the 500 enrolled enrolled that will attend its classrooms daily, students who will become more than 1,000 per operation. More than 300 young people will be added to these students in the city who will follow the UNICAL Specialization Schools (today are 31, but will increase very quickly) and the interns that attend the incubator of companies created by the University at Palazzo Spadafora. A historical turning point that strengthens the link between the city of Cosenza and Unical, with the university that is radical even more deeply in the territory, with concrete actions. The San Domenico complex, with its majestic architecture and the charm of its history, the streets that reach the urban center from the old city, thus transforms into living space, where young people frequent historical places, into a continuous dialogue between past and future. Within the year, at the end of the renovation works in progress, to the 120 -seater classroom already active, 2 184 -seater classrooms will be added, 1 78 -seater classroom, 1 95 -seater classroom, as well as spaces for workshops, study classrooms and services. The agreement provides for the free use of spaces for the next nine years, with Unical’s commitment in ordinary management and maintenance. Overall, cultural events will also be organized, from poetry and narrative reading to musical events, from seminars to workshops. But the real revolution lies in the fact that students will not only attend the historic center, but will live it. The Rector has, in fact, given news of the opening of a new university residence, identified a few steps from San Domenico. A brand new building divided into mini -apartment, with separate spaces for study and daily life, and a concierge service. The connection with the University of Rende will still be constant, thanks to 27 daily bus runs, so that the boys can always enjoy all the campus services, guaranteed by the status of UNICAL students: access to sports facilities, recreational activities, canteens and specific training activities that take place in the University’s classrooms. Students entitled to scholarships will thus have the opportunity to stay for free in a structure with every comfort. At the same time, their constant presence will bring a new energy to the historic center of Cosenza which will no longer be only a place of passage for training, but will become a space lived 24 hours a day: a university citadel inside the city, where young people will help make the squares more animated and the most popular public places.
“It is the narration of a dream that continues and of which we are proud – said the mayor of Cosenza, Franz Caruso – having made it, bringing the university to the historic center, is for us not only a fact of extreme relevance, but also a reason for pride, aware of having succeeded in the company in which many, before us, had failed. We thus follow the resolution adopted by the City Council which allowed to achieve an unprecedented result, allocating one of our most appreciated historical monuments to important and significant cultural and training activities and assigning to students who will populate the classrooms and our historic center an active protagonism for a new vitality that we hope will soon animate Cosenza Vecchia “.
“The combination between a training center in the heart of the city and a modern and well -equipped residence – explained the rector Nicola Leone – will guarantee students an immersive and stimulating university experience. The challenge for Cosenza is now knowing how to welcome many other young people who will arrive in the city, facilitating the rental of accommodation and creating the right conditions to encourage the sociability of university students. The historic center can become not only a heritage to be admired, but a place to live fully “.