A crucial moment. The Single City will be the theme at the center of the political debate for the next few weeks. The referendum scheduled for December 1st is in fact the watershed with respect to the future of the urban area: the merger between the capital, Rende and Castrolibero could change the history of this area of Calabria. The “yes” committees are already in motion and the opponents of the project are also moving along the judicial-administrative line. A line led by the spontaneous Rense committee, with a series of political exponents and former municipal councilors, accompanied by the Bruzia municipal council, led by Mayor Franz Caruso.
Luciana De Francesco, president of the Institutional Affairs Commission of the Region and supporter of the merger, takes the field: «We proposed the law on the single city because we believe that building a large community» he states «is an unrepeatable opportunity for the entire urban area of Cosenza. We are not just thinking about the financing we can obtain, which will also be important, but about the role that Cosenza will have as the provincial capital. There will be development opportunities linked both to the presence of the university and to the ability to exploit the southern area with the historic centre. It is an open challenge for all three cities and I want to underline that, like any democratic process, the referendum is an opportunity for discussion and to raise public awareness. In our opinion, the fact that it was challenged is a political error but we are confident about the administrative ruling. There is no greater democratic expression than the popular one. We confidently await the judgment of the Regional Administrative Court and the Council of State and will carry out a referendum campaign aimed at making citizens aware of the opportunities connected to the conurbation which represent an important key for future generations and which will allow the creation of Calabria’s second city. In the regional council we also found an agreement with the Democratic Party and for this reason I think it is important to confirm that political will. We have clear ideas and are ready to take the field to allow a merger that will guarantee expansion and growth.”