The awarding of two tenders, in partnership with the Municipality of Scilla on the one hand and the aggregated Municipalities of Riace, Stilo and Pazzano on the other, represents the recognition of the many years of commitment of the Magna Grecia Foundation in promoting projects for the regeneration, enhancement and management of the great cultural heritage of Southern Italy, especially on the outskirts of small towns where historic villages lie. All this was made even more relevant by the constant historical and cultural reference to the Magna Graecia tradition that permeated first the territories of the South, and then Italy and the West as a whole.

The actions, promoted by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage as part of the NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) Measures, aim to integrate the objectives related to cultural heritage protection with the needs of social and economic revitalization, relaunching employment and combating the depopulation of the villages concerned. The projects, presented by the Foundation in partnership with other for-profit and Third Sector organizations, aim to carry out interventions focused on the recovery of historical sites, the redevelopment of open public spaces, the creation of small cultural services also for tourism purposes by encouraging the creation and promotion of new itineraries and guided tours, the support of cultural, creative, tourist, commercial, agri-food and craft activities, with the goal of relaunching local economies and enhancing the products, knowledge and crafts of the territory. The operational context is that of a strong public-private collaboration, which calls for the promotion of integrated and participatory approaches in order to generate benefits in the four pillars of sustainable development: economy, cultural diversity, society and environment.

In this context, the Magna Grecia Foundation put forward a partnership project to the Municipalities of Scilla and Riace, true custodians of the Magna Graecia tradition in Calabria and of a millenary fabric of culture, history and traditions, which then translated into a project elaboration that passed the scrutiny of the awarding commission at the Ministry of Culture and which will materialize in the various territories over a period of 36 months.

The result will be the social and economic revitalization of the territories, their employment revival and the fight against depopulation, the activation of entrepreneurial and commercial initiatives that create employment effects on the territory. All without interruption of continuity in line with the traditions, history and culture of the individual places.