Campo di Giove: The village reborn thanks to refugees

CAMPO DI GIOVE: A VILLAGE REBORN THANKS TO REFUGEES

A small village in Abruzzo, a thousand meters above sea level, in the mountains surrounding L'Aquila : a place worthy of a novel for its history. Campo di Giove was destined for inevitable depopulation , with a resident population of just over eight hundred people, schools closing due to lack of enrollment, and even small businesses in the area closing. Then everything changed with the long wave of refugees fleeing war and famine: Albanians, Syrians, Ukrainians, Ghanaians, Pakistanis, and Venezuelans. New children arrived, with a veritable baby boom, and not only did the preschool and elementary school remain open, but a new building was planned. The refugees brought jobs, even encouraging locals to remain in Campo di Giove. Such is the case of Domenico Casasanta and his wife Rossella Santilli , who created a mini-supply chain, bridging local craftsmanship and industry, for the production of wheat, flour, and dairy products. Thanks to the Horizon Cooperative, the refugees' arrival in Campo di Giove was very smooth: the immigrants found housing and work, and took courses to learn Italian perfectly. And the integration worked , giving a future to Campo di Giove, which was at risk of becoming a ghost town.

WHEN IMMIGRATION WORKS:

• Maib and Modou: From selling necklaces on the beach to high fashion shows
• Mustapha: He single-handedly takes care of the flowers in a Turin square.
• Roots: The Restaurant That Trains Immigrant Chefs