Colombaro: a rigeneration model integrated between technology and sociality

Governing Formigine “seriously” means definitively eliminating the concept of the periphery, as a community can only truly be defined as such if its areas geographically furthest from the center receive the same level of care, innovation, and institutional attention. Colombaro today requires a radical shift in approach - one that moves beyond the logic of routine maintenance toward a structural redefinition of its functions and its urban dignity. This means categorically abandoning the notion that there are “second-tier” areas or districts left behind.

Colombaro does not need electoral promises today, but rather a vision which, as I outlined in my essay “Architecture of the World: Law, Diplomacy and Power Among States” , is capable of reconciling different interests in order to build a solid and functional social order.

Pieve di San Giacomo a Colombaro

Within this framework, my proposal for the former school complex represents the fulcrum of a new social contract between the administration and the residents of Colombaro. My intention is to transform this currently underutilized space into a modernized, safe, and above all functional intergenerational center, capable of generating circular human and economic value. I intend to equip the structure with high-quality healthcare and sanitary services, preparing suitable facilities to host genuine proximity medicine—not merely announced, but truly delivered. Article 32 of our Constitution and Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights establish the right to health as fundamental and universal; for this reason, I will never treat it as an administrative taboo nor as a cost to be cut. I would like the Municipality to ensure the regular presence of local physicians for blood tests, screenings, and specialist consultations directly here in Colombaro, in order to remove logistical barriers and enable even those without the means to reach distant healthcare centers to exercise their right to prevention.

However, the revitalization of a place also depends on its capacity to generate economic activity. I would like the former school to become a direct opportunity for employment recovery by integrating within it a well-curated library and a multimedia community hub. Its management will not be left to chance, but will instead create concrete job opportunities for citizens, particularly for young people. Transforming an urban void into a center for services and employment, in my view, means combating social isolation through the dignity of income and the vitality of culture. It is a model of active welfare that turns public expenditure into social investment.

This focus on the individual must necessarily be reflected in the everyday safety of our infrastructure, because there is no dignity without protection. I consider the dangerousness of the roundabout at the entrance to the district—this vital junction connecting Castelnuovo Rangone, Montale, Modena, and Pozza—unacceptable, as today pedestrians represent the weakest link in a frenetic logistical chain. I would move without delay to extend the sidewalk and secure pedestrian crossings through intelligent lighting systems, because safe mobility is not an option reserved for the few—it is a pre-political right.

In my book “The Country of Missed Opportunities,” I highlight how Italy is often paralyzed by the vast gap between written law and practical reality. The urban decorum of Colombaro is clear evidence of this: it is pointless to approve superficial environmental regulations if basic infrastructure—such as strategically placed pole-mounted waste bins—is lacking, or if we resign ourselves to seeing thousands of cigarette butts degrading our public spaces. For this reason, I would install technological cigarette disposal bins using funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) allocated to ecological transition, ensuring regulatory compliance and preventing toxic substances from ending up in ordinary waste containers or drainage systems.

Finally, I would restore the identity and beauty of our agricultural landscape by transforming the rural road leading to the small lake into a well-maintained and safe ecological corridor, inspired by the aesthetic of the “Shire,” where nature meets order. This would be achieved through a partnership agreement with the landowner, providing for sustainable lighting and landscape design, demonstrating that cooperation between public and private sectors can generate public beauty. To achieve all of this, I do not require new bureaucratic roles or unnecessary superstructures, but simply that district representatives finally have an administration capable of responding to their reports with technical competence and clear timelines. The politics I intend to pursue does not rely on shouted slogans, but on the ability to build an architecture of concrete solutions, where merit and execution capacity become the only tools to seriously prepare the future of Colombaro and our Formigine—going beyond factional logic, because the seriousness of an administration is also measured by its ability to recognize and support good ideas, wherever they may come from.

Edoardo Pignatti

The present technical and design solutions constitute an original intellectual work by Edoardo Pignatti. The content is fully protected under Law No. 633/1941, Articles 2575–2583 of the Civil Code, and EU Directives 2019/790 and 2004/48/EC. Any form of reproduction, re-elaboration, adaptation, or misappropriation, even partial, is strictly prohibited.