C. Cannarella, V. Piccioni, M. Furci: "Casali Metropolitani/Metropolitan Rural Homes"

I publish the comments made by Umberto Lacchetti about my recent work, I have made together with Valeria Piccioni and Michele Furci, on a survey about the fate of some examples of ancient rural buildings conflicting with urban expansion in Italy.

When immersed in the everyday life, one not always can notice the presence of situations worth of proper attention. Then suddenly one realizes it and anything becomes clear. This is what has happened to me when reading "Casali Metropolitani/Metropolitan Rural Homes": urban areas moving forward destroying rural homes and other expressions of rurality is a diffused process, accompanied often by general indifference. Nonetheless, it provokes not only a lack of natural environments, but also, as the authors of this book emphasize, a cultural and values' erosion, heavily influencing the quality of our life. It is difficult to disagree with this perspective, but too often this marginalization process is however considered as unavoidable and quasi-necessary. On the contrary the authors suggest the idea that a synthesis between urban expansions and rural needs can be possible, maybe necessary. This is the positive message emerging from this book capable to give a renewed role to rural areas becoming protagonist within urban landscapes and expressions of a sustainable deelopment. This is an innovative project also envisaging the possibility of forms of agriculture within urban contexts.

This project requires however a remarkable cultural shift in Italy. It is fnecessary to reconstruct in Italy a landscape and territorial culture because politicians and administrators often show a scarce sensibility to these issues. It is necessary also to adequately cope with the pressures coming from economy which pushes towards the achievement of different interests. A real people participation is thus essential to stimulate in politicians a necessary attention towards rural world and its cultural expressions, an attention which in Italy is absent, till now...

Umberto Lacchetti