Alex Urso Asks Whether Italy's Small Towns Should Be Saved or Allowed to Die
In an opinion article for Artribune, Alex Urso challenges the idealized perception surrounding the depopulation of Italy's small towns. He refers to a report by Lorenzo Tondo in the Guardian about the birth celebrations in Acquaviva Platani, which underscores Italy's demographic issues, projecting a population of 58.9 million by 1 January 2026, a decline of 1.7 million since 2016. Urso raises the question of whether certain villages should be allowed to fade away rather than be repopulated or commercialized. He criticizes the moral emphasis on survival, linking it to nostalgia instead of effective urban planning. He also points out that government initiatives often favor tourism over authentic repopulation, referencing critiques from Carmela Chiapperini, Emanuela Montenegro, and Gianfranco Viesti regarding the PNRR's tourism-centric approach.
Key facts
- Italy's resident population was 58.9 million on 1 January 2026, about 1.7 million less than in 2016.
- The Sicilian village of Acquaviva Platani celebrates each new birth with church bells and bar toasts, as reported by Lorenzo Tondo in The Guardian.
- Alex Urso argues that the debate on inner areas must abandon romantic rhetoric and accept uncomfortable truths.
- Urso questions whether some small towns should simply die rather than be saved or repopulated.
- He criticizes the humanizing language used for towns, such as 'wounded,' 'abandoned,' and 'in agony.'
- Recent government measures for inner areas are said to favor tourism and hospitality over genuine repopulation policies.
- Carmela Chiapperini, Emanuela Montenegro, and Gianfranco Viesti criticized the PNRR measure for prioritizing tourist potential over residents' needs.
- Urso concludes that sometimes it would be better for the agony of these places to end forever than to become a cocktail of marketing and nostalgia.
Entities
Artists
- Alex Urso
- Lorenzo Tondo
- Carmela Chiapperini
- Emanuela Montenegro
- Gianfranco Viesti
Institutions
- Artribune
- The Guardian
Locations
- Italy
- Acquaviva Platani
- Sicily