A conference-technical table institution has unlocked the project funded by Europe. The historical, environmental and cultural value of an operation blocked by bureaucracy.
An operational agreement and a timetable for using European money. The restructuring of the former prison of S. Stefano-Ventotene lies in these two commitments. The technical table convened by the Extraordinary Commissioner Silvia Costa seems to have finally scored a point in favor of the environmental and historical recovery of a symbol of the European Union. Un place that everyone should visit, he said Dario Franceschini intervened ,among others, At the meeting in street telematics.
Commissioner Costa was worried about losing 70 million euros which Brussels had allocated for years. Italy would not have made a good impression with respect to the use of funds - these days, then! - to the rebirth of an area of extraordinary beauty and to the testimony of the European construction imagined here by Altiero Spinelli and Ernesto Rossi.
The Operating Agreement was signed between Mibact and Invitalia for the safety and extraordinary maintenance of the whole building, the landing stages, the roads and paths. Silvia Costa, four months after her appointment, has therefore managed to speed up the recovery of a project conceived in an eco-sustainable key. Eventually some jobs -let's hope without other uncertaintiese- the site will express finality cultural and higher education in a European and Euro-Mediterranean dimension.For now, trust and prudence, waiting to see the construction sites open. And the slow pace maintained since 2016 is not on the Commissioner's shoulders.
Undersecretary Riccardo Fraccaro and the Minister for the South Giuseppe Provenzano joined the chorus of satisfaction for having restarted a project crushed by bureaucracy. Now we finally have the wind in our sails, commented Costa, who, among other things, proposed to the Mayor of Ventotene, Gerardo Santomauro, the twinning with Lampedusa – “Gateway to Europe”.
Symbols of yesterday and today that must make the enemies of a community rich in traditions and values pale. Retraining the anti-fascist prison is also a warning to the modest but noisy group of anti-Europeans present in different fields. For this reason we think that the Italian effort will be greatly appreciated if by 2021 the work plan is completed in an enviable sustainable and desired framework. Who knows if Europe's Heads of State and Government will one day really hold their summits here, as Franceschini imagines. In a protected natural setting, today already a Marine Reserve, but also destined to become a Biodiversity Center and Botanical Garden, those who believe in Europe will find a safe haven.
