We like to win hard: Metaurilia is one of the most disordered and problematic suburbs of Fano. We also like to win easily: Metaurilia has a suggestive and contradictory history that was born in the Fascism period and that few have narrated so far. Our project cares about urban suburbs and their people: their stories, traditions, landscapes and encounters generate narratives and actions that become Ecomuseum, community hub that becomes the engine of sustainable human and urban regeneration.

Metaurilia is a suburb of Fano (PU), by the Adriatic sea, in Marche region, Italy

Metaurilia is the only example in the Marche of Land Reclamation. This area quickly became the queen of late cauliflower, a vegetable much appreciated in Northern Europe. 115 houses were built all in a row on the Adriatic state road, entrusted to families of gardeners: a suggestive semi-rural landscape, a lucky economy. But when the "cabbage business" ended, in the 1960s the tourist business began, which soon engulfed all the charm of Metaurilia: building speculation devastated the landscape and depleted the beaches, the Adriatic highway sowed death. It is a neglected territory whose history generates embarrassment and estrangement. Through the narration of this community of greengrocer who after the war redeems the past by joining a cooperative, we want to reactivate the local community.

Our project, started three years ago, has already involved the Albatros Association (200 members including residents and sympathizers with a fairly high average age), the Municipal and Regional Administrations, has collaborated with various associations and artistic realities and taken contacts with local businesses and local economic activities.
Our goal today is to involve children too, young people, migrants, new families, that is, those who live in this area without having a memory, more by fallback than by choice, and involve them in a process of regeneration of the hamlet and renewed sense of belonging and care. We would also like this project to encourage the local administration to promote similar initiatives in the most remote fractions and to care for the suburbs

We interviewed 50 families, organized two exhibitions and several events (historical-naturalistic-emotional walk, shows, conferences), made the model of a 40's house, told the territory through videos posted on social media and on the pages of our site. We have written the subject for a film and we are about to publish an illustrated book that tells the stories of Metaurilia. The local community is growing in awareness of the uniqueness of its territory and identity. Now the ecomuseum needs a venue. We have started a preliminary project to recover the fruit and vegetable warehouse of the historic Cooperative. Now we want to start with the local community the co-planning of the spaces, the expected functions and the Ecomuseum activities.

The dream we cultivate is that the local administration begins to invest in the redevelopment of Metaurilia by including it in the three-year investment plan, based on a project shared by the local community. We dream of having the definitive architectural project of our Ecomuseum in the drawer and to win a European tender with it. We dream of operating a resilient vegetable garden that opens up to a sustainable use of the territory other than speculation. We dream of having young people who deal with Metaurilia for degree thesis and artistic and economic activities. We dream of having set up a new socio-cultural association that has the task of activating the Ecomuseum and promoting the community hub. We dream of a more cohesive and confident in the future local community.

Metaurilia is a discouraged and disillusioned community. Over the years, he has seen every proposal for redevelopment fail. The Circolo Albatros is the heir to Cooperative of gardeners of the 40s, it is very active and cohesive, capable however of attracting only the elderly population, custodian of the memory of the past. The project aims to bring young people closer to the history and environmental, economic, historical and cultural potential of this area and make them the protagonists of its regeneration, in terms of resilience and green economy. A dynamic ecomuseum that has the value of community hub for the territory, is the way to bring light, investments and dignity back to Metaurilia and its people.

After years of living in the historic center of Fano with my family we lived in the countryside for 6 years, where we experienced the joy of a life in contact with nature and new friends, but at the same time suffered the loss of essential services (especially transport and opportunities teaching and training for children). We went back to Fano, with a broken heart. I experienced the inequalities between the rural and urban communities on my skin. So I decided to put my profession and my sensitivity at the service of my city in order to eliminate inequalities and redistribute resources fairly. I love the story and the stories hidden in the folds of the places. I feel an inner strength that pushes me to bring out the "genius loci" and make even the prejudiced fall in love with it

10,000 € implementation of a resilient vegetable garden
7.000 € co-planning of the Ecomuseum narration and functions
6,000 € organization of events ("tactical urbanism", workshops ancient crafts etc.)
5.000 € activation of scholarships
12,000 € staff costs (team members)
4.000 € setting up new association
3,000 € editing and publication of the illustrated book on the stories of Metaurilia
1.000 € printing of the presentation brochure of the subject of the film
2,000 € advertising

I would like best-practice reports similar to our project, any international partnership proposals, useful suggestions to better finalize our objectives, any critical points identified.