INNER RURAL AREAS ENTREPRENEURSHIP ITALIAN COMMUNITY COOPERATIVES & SMART PROPOSAL FOR THE SICILIAN MOUNTAIN MADONIE DISTRICT

Abstract

In the Mediterranean Basin, in Sicily, there is the “Madonie District” in the UNESCO Geopark with 21 municipalities, the largest inner rural area in Italy. It is suffering from depopulation and lack of work despite its natural and architectural potential. Now is the time to bring to light its cultural importance, as it is full of culture and history, fundamental for our country. Villages organized into communities deeply rooted in the territory with old traditions, arts and crafts, religious and popular festivals, in which there is a strong sense of active citizenship, community, cooperation, and collaboration. A better quality of life can be guaranteed through the process of creating smart villages, small collaborating urban centers through innovation and CCs - Community Cooperatives. This research work aims to analyze Italian CCs examples, a method of aggregation capable of promoting important job opportunities in inner areas and enhancing them. Models of social innovation in which citizens organize themselves to be producers and users of goods or services, fostering synergy, opportunities due to an Italian regulation built in recent years. A focus is dedicated to the analysis of Italian CCs, their benefits, competitiveness, and goals scattered throughout the rich rural territory. These areas, by creating new job opportunities, can truly be called smart villages; if this activity is extended to the entire Madonie district, then they could be competitive at the Italian, European, and global level. If extended all over the world, they can bring them back into vogue and stop the existing gap with smart cities: it means above all active citizenship, which constitutes the success of a resilient community. A smart village makes the most of itself with innovation, preserving and promoting the value of tradition: new inner rural areas that we must encourage.