Reggio Calabria Women's Center in Pellaro Remains Closed After €800k Renovation, La Strada Calls for Answers

The municipal building in Pellaro, confiscated from the ‘Ndrangheta, was fully renovated with roughly €800,000 of public funds under the Agenda Urbana program. The renovation, which added three floors, a terrace, a garden courtyard and solar panels, was formally handed over in a ceremony on 8 March 2024.

Despite the investment, the Casa delle Donne di Pellaro has not opened. The local activist movement La Strada, represented by Flavia Carricato and Maria Lucia Parisi, has asked the Reggio Calabria municipality for clarification. They note that the project was intended to become a feminist‑run anti‑violence centre, citing the municipality’s December 6 2023 tender for assigning the building’s management, which closed on 18 December. La Strada is pressing for a qualified, secular administration and for the centre to begin serving victims of domestic abuse.