Calabria, Italy: Change is possible

‘We have to work together and have the courage to make things work.’ Loris Rossetto spoke with conviction at the recent ‘Co-Governance, Mutual Responsibility in Cities Today’ where he recounted the story of ‘Bella Calabria’ a hostel which is operating from a building confiscated from the Mafia.

‘Sometimes we mistakenly tell ourselves ‘nothing ever changes’ or, ‘it’s better not to take the risk’. However, when we roll up our sleeves and work as a team, you get results.’ This is the experience of Loris Rossetto and his wife, who, having left Calabria in the 1990’s to live in Venice and then Trent. On returning to their home region in 2005, they set up activities in buildings confiscated from the N’drangheta, as the Mafia is known there. Having experienced efficient ways of working up north, they wanted to combine the warmth, natural resources and culture of the south and develop, ‘A unique kind of tourism, characterised by the welcome and friendship that is typically Calabrian.

Their goal was to promote the economic growth of the region, but above all to create friendships with people from other countries. They wanted to encourage the local population to work for the common good, without breaking the law, and to believe that the rejuvenation of the area was possible.

The facts speak for themselves. In Calabria there are 35 local Councils that the state has taken out of the hands of the Mafia, including the regional capital. Half the drugs entering Italy pass through the region. But as the Rossetto’s experience showed, the scourge of the Mafia will not triumph for those who have the courage to promote a new way of relating to each other.

‘We started off by founding ‘Friends of the German Language,’ explained Loris, ‘wanting to promote exchanges between our town and German speaking countries. The first project was the creation of a meeting centre. Then we had the idea of opening the ’Bella Calabria’ hostel in a reclaimed building in Cutro, a village  in Crotone province.

On the 11^thApril 2015 the building was opened. “We created a programme of classes,” continued Loris, “48 hours at the hostel with the motto ‘a happy person is one who respects the rules’. It was subtitled, ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’ They absorbed this idea and understood that to work as part of a team is good thing.  The students learn foreign languages through simulation and dialogue in those languages.”

But the first stages in this adventure were a steep learning curve. And it wasn’t because the couple didn’t understand what they had to do regarding finance or tourism. In the summer water is scarce. They have to store water in tanks, but it is never enough. However, luckily, the following year a Council was elected that really wanted to support and help them, and now they have better water distribution. The couple saw this as a sign from heaven to encourage them to keep going.

And so bit by bit the project continued to grow. People came from the north of Italy as well as guests from Europe, a hockey team from Hamm, a class from Dresden and the German Red Cross. Everyone experienced the warmth of Calabrian hospitality  and the local people, who were at first nonplussed, became interested in the project.

“The people of Cutro have responded amazingly,” observed Loris, “Quite often a surprised tourist told us they had gone into a bar and were offered a coffee or a neighbour brought them fresh fruit. Our guests are so struck by all this that they fall in love with the place and the hostel, and those who come once, often return. We understand we’re on the right track.

We are going to open a second hostel at Crotone, and have put forward a project which involves 3 parks: at Cropani Marina we want to teach driver’s education using mini-cars. We’ll offer a mountain biking course in Isola and a course in botany in Ciro. There are still problems with these projects, but it will work out in the end.”

The common denominator is strong motivation and an invitation: ‘Never stop dreaming; stand with your feet on the ground and look up to heavens if you want to love and improve your own environment.’

Claudia Di Lorenzi