The volume "A country is needed". Studies and perspectives for abandoned and depopulated centers, edited by Annunziata Maria Oteri and Giuseppina Scamardì, and published open access in the magazine ArcHistoR (ArcHistoR Extra, 7, 2020, http://pkp.unirc.it/ojs/index.php/archistor/issue/view/48), collects reflections and insights on the issues that emerged in the conference of the same name held at the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria in November 2018 and coordinated by the same curators.
The aim is to analyze with a multidisciplinary look the effects of the processes of abandonment of small towns, in Italy and beyond, on the tangible and intangible cultural heritage and to reflect, with the help of concrete experiences, on the possible strategies for their social revival cheap.
In recent years, the theme appears to be of great relevance since the depopulation of small towns in marginal, inland, and mountain areas is emerging in all its gravity. However, it was also an opportunity, as emerges from many of the contributions in the volume, to verify the significant paradigm shift in the approach to depopulation, which is progressively increasing everywhere in recent years, also thanks to a new way of looking at areas. Marginal as to places rich in resources and potential. On the other hand, the pandemic we are experiencing seems to confirm this hypothesis, as revealed by studies, experiences, but also the chronicle of what has been happening in recent months.
The breakdown into sections, anticipated by the introductions of the curators and some introductory reflections, allows us to look at the issues according to the various facets, going from the causes and effects of the abandonment processes of section 1) to the Strategies and perspectives for the relaunch of the centers abandoned in section 2) to the Contributions and experiences of session 3.