Gagliano Aterno is a small mountain village still in the process of recovering from the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake, which damaged much of its physical infrastructure and worsened a trend of depopulation that had already been underway for decades. As a result, access to spaces for living, socializing, craft and culture remains severely limited. In this context, unused public buildings are a vital resource for the community and an opportunity to welcome new people, support stable forms of residency, and foster projects of collective value.
Melemarze managed the transition phase and proposed the participatory process that led to the founding of the Foresteria Bene Comune (literally, the “Common Good Guesthouse”), a publicly owned, non-profit, collectively managed guesthouse. Once an unused building, it has been restored and furnished to offer accommodation on a pay-what-you-can basis. It also has three cellar rooms, used as extra spaces for gatherings and community initiatives.
Defined as a “common good” — a shared resource oriented towards collective well being — the guesthouse only hosts people and projects that directly contribute to the physical and cultural life of the area. Since it opened, it has welcomed artisans, researchers, artists, professionals and new residents who have developed initiatives in line with the area’s needs and shared values.
The space is cared for and managed by the Foresteria Bene Comune Assembly, made up of the Municipality of Gagliano Aterno, local associations like us, and individual citizens who signed the Collaboration Pact (“Patto di Collaborazione”) that sets out the values and goals of this project.
You can find the “Patto di Collaborazione” (in Italian) signed on June 15th 2026, clicking HERE
