As part of the European Union’s URBAN II programme, the municipality of Torino used the funds from the EU Programme to purchase the Cascina Roccafranca – built in the XVII century to serve as a farmhouse – and then transformed it into a multipurpose neighbourhood centre through a cooperation between public and civic actors. The buildings are owned by the Turin Municipality and the Municipality assigned the venue to the Cascina Roccafranca Foundation that manages it jointly with the municipality and district representatives. As a public asset, Cascina Roccafranca’s use is limited to social and cultural purposes, preventing commercial activities. It was envisioned as a multi-purpose space for socialization, civic engagement and cultural activities, to promote an ethical lifestyle and to support the dignity and diversity of ethnic, religious, gender or physically challenged minorities [1; 2].
Cascina Roccafranca (Roccafranca farmstead) was built in the 17th century to serve as a farmhouse for the religious confraternity, Compagnia dell’Immacolata Concezione. In 1689, the farmhouse was sold to Count Ballard, and it was raised in a feud in 1734. In 1840, its following owner, Baroness Chionio, enlarged the farmhouse and modified its original structure. From 1957, the agricultural land connected to the Cascina Roccafranca was progressively reduced and taken over by the Fiat Mirafiori establishment and a residential development aiming to accommodate workers. In the 1970s, Cascina Roccafranca ultimately lost its function and was dismissed. After over thirty years of vacancy, this building became an urban void, degraded by time, nature and the site of small-scale criminal activities, homelessness and marginalisation [1].
The aim of the initiative is to requalify and transform Cascina Roccafranca (a former farmstead) into a multipurpose neighbourhood centre through a cooperation between public and civic actors. In order to achieve these aims they undertake activities such as requalification and renovation of the buildings.
To supervise the requalification of the Cascina Roccafranca, a committee was formed with representatives of the municipality and of the district. Using the model of the social forum, the committee invited citizens and associations to brainstorm about the features of the future community venue and launched an ideas incubator project to gather activity proposals from the community. Through the participatory planning process, the buildings were envisioned to be a multi-purpose space for socialization, citizen engagement and cultural activities. The participatory planning process around the conception of the buildings fed into the new venue’s planning with many ideas, such as total accessibility with no barriers and thresholds of control; as well as the idea of architectural transparency that allows people to see what is happening inside. Over more than 11 years of work, Cascina Roccafranca has also adapted to new needs that were not envisioned in the planning phase. For example, with the economic crisis in 2007, Cascina Roccafranca became a support facility for residents who were facing unemployment or poverty as well as a centre for integrating the local migrant community.
After opening, Cascina Roccafranca hosts hundreds of activities annually, targeting a variety of groups and interests. It accommodates about 195 cultural programs a year, covering music, theatre, conferences, book readings and roundtables with authors, language courses, cabaret, dance, and even dance in a wheelchair for disabled people. In addition, it also hosts about 127 wellness programs and courses proposed by external organisations and 355 private parties annually [1; 2].
The Turin Municipality bought and owns the buildings of Cascina Roccafranca, and it assigned the venue to the Cascina Roccafranca Foundation which manages it jointly with the municipality and district representatives. The foundation comprises a Board of Directors with five members: three members are nominated by the Municipality and two are appointed by the College of Participants. The College of Participants meets every six months and nominates its representatives who attend the Board of Directors. The Board meets once a month and makes decisions on some activities and dilemmas the foundation is facing.
Furthermore, the initiative is part of the Rete delle Case del Quartiere (Network of Neighbourhood Houses) and works with over 80 associations and informal groups, as well as 20 individuals who promote activities in the venue [1].
Cascina Roccafranca is a non-profit foundation set up with EU funds from the Urban II project. Apart from this additional funding, the initiative generates revenue through donations, crowdfunding campaigns, and organisational activities such as renting space and hosting activities as well as providing services for other projects and tenders [1; 6].
The initiative aims to find a balance between public and private contributions. The municipality of Turin pays for utilities and maintenance as well as wages and costs concerning events and workshops. The rest of the costs are covered by income from contributions from Compagnia di Sanpaolo and from income generated by the initiative.
The annual expenditure in 2021 was €260.000 and the goal is for the initiative to be financially self-sustainable, but they currently only cover around 70% of their costs and rely on their donors for the rest [6].
Open Heritage – Cascina Roccafrance Observatory Case, https://openheritage.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/1_Open-Heritage_Cascina-Roccafrance_Observatory-Case.pdf, accessed August 2022
Cascina Roccafrance, official website, https://www.cascinaroccafranca.it/, accessed August 2022
OBSERVATORY CASE: CASCINA ROCCAFRANCA, TURIN, https://ohpraga.pl/en/studium-miejsca-cascina-roccafranca-turyn/, accessed August 2022
Recalling the past, suggesting modernity, https://wonderland.cx/project/recalling-the-past-suggesting-modernity/, accessed August 2022