Reclaiming Home
Città Futura was born in October 1998 from the vision of a group of young people determined to save their town from collapse. Riace, in the province of Reggio Calabria, tells the story of so many southern Italian villages: a place that held over 3,000 residents in its historic center during the 1960s had dwindled to 600. Thirty percent of the old town's houses stood empty. The economy depended almost entirely on government assistance. The fabric of civic life was fragile.
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The association set out to restore the historic center, revive local traditions and ancient crafts, and halt the sprawl of illegal construction along the coast. To take the first step—renting and renovating homes in the old town—they approached Banca Etica, an ethical bank. Despite the absence of collateral, the bank immediately recognized the value of what Città Futura was attempting. In 2000, it extended a credit line to the association. Today, eleven guest houses have been completed, offering fifty-five beds nestled in the medieval heart of the village.
In parallel, the group launched a revival of traditional crafts and heritage skills. They converted an old mill into a weaving workshop—a move that served two purposes at once: it created jobs and allowed visitors to experience the trades of earlier generations firsthand.