“Destination Calabria” with Green SIM
The interview with Mariangela Preta
Mariangela Preta is the director of the Museum Complex of Soriano Calabro and the Civic Museums of Pizzo Calabro, as well as an archaeologist and member of the Board of Directors of the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria. She has curated exhibitions and cultural initiatives in collaboration with regional and national museum institutions. Delegate of the Minister for Equal Opportunities and Family Eugenia Roccella in the project “L’Italia delle Donne,” of which she is the national coordinator, she is also the artistic director of the project “La Calabria delle donne.” Her professional activity focuses on the promotion of cultural heritage, the organization of scientific and educational events, and the development of territorial enhancement pathways.
Director, you were given the task of inaugurating this third edition of the Green Social Impact Manager Advanced Training Course. This was not a random choice; we felt that meeting with a figure of your caliber was the best way to welcome our students to Calabria. What are your impressions at the end of this first lesson of the course?
I must say that it was first and foremost a pleasant surprise, because seeing so many young graduates from many Italian regions and even from abroad choose the Filogaso location to pursue such important study and professional training, and seeing them so enthusiastic about learning and discovering the distinctive features of our region, left me deeply impressed and moved. It was a continuous and enriching exchange: I “gave” the students in terms of experience and knowledge, and they “gave” me so much with their feedback.
Director, your leadership role in the museum structures of Soriano Calabro and the Civic Museums of Pizzo, as well as your presence on the board of directors of the National Archaeological Museum of Reggio Calabria, makes you a key figure in the preservation and dissemination of Calabrian cultural heritage. What does this role mean to you?
It is not a simple task, especially at our “latitudes.” The conservation, promotion, and above all the enhancement of cultural heritage is what drives my work and my constant daily commitment. At every moment, even at night, I think about what more to do to better promote our cultural heritage. It is a commitment I have always carried forward. I have a degree in archaeology and also obtained my specialization in archaeology in Pisa; I completed master’s programs in cultural heritage enhancement. This is what drives my entire life and my days, to try to tell and make known more and more what is now called “Destination Calabria.”
The organization of the Green Social Impact Manager program now cyclically brings young people from all over Italy and abroad to Calabria. As a Calabrian professional and lover of Calabria, how do you evaluate the work of Fondazione Augurusa?
The work you are doing is extraordinary. The Foundation invests in a territory about which there is often an incorrect narrative. It is extremely important to change the narrative of our places by also bringing investors, businesses, and young students, as Fondazione Augurusa is doing. This work concretely helps the development of Calabria, making people understand how our territories—in this case the Vibo Valentia area—are a driver of development for the entire region. Praise goes to you, to Fondazione Augurusa, which has decided to bring such important seminars here to Filogaso, with extraordinary faculty. I had the privilege of opening the session, introducing these students to where they are and what extraordinary things we can see, and also what they could do to improve and be protagonists of the future development of this region. Especially if we look at the high-level professional faculty that have been involved in this program… it is a significant investment you have made in a territory that absolutely needs a transformation of narratives. It is work that allows people to understand that it is important to invest here, that there are opportunities: there is still so much, so much to do… and it is the right time to take that leap forward.
What do you think your land can offer these students?
Calabria is a “concentrate of Italy,” as I often say. Tourists from abroad come to Italy for the cuisine, the landscape, the culture, the art: Italy offers all of this, but in Calabria you have everything in the same place. You can go skiing while looking at the Strait of Messina, you can decide to take a castle tour, you can go rafting, you can admire contemporary art parks or the museum that houses the Riace Bronzes, you can have culinary experiences that are unique. So making these students, the professionals who come from outside the region to teach, important entrepreneurs aware of the potential of our territory becomes incredible “advertising” for this territory, necessary to make people understand that one can and must invest in Calabria.
Fondazione Augurusa has been operating in the Calabrian territory for several years now, always having the well-being of this region at heart. From your point of view, do you think there could be interesting synergies with your work? What do you think the viable paths might be?
Absolutely yes, there is an incredible connection. My role and your work already constitute a very important network. Bringing together people like me who work all day to transform narratives and people like you who base their work on values that look to communities, the environment, and the territory is of fundamental importance. In fact, we should seek other figures to ensure that this network becomes increasingly broader.
If you were to leave a final message to the students, who still have more than a month of life here in Filogaso ahead of them, what would you like to tell them?
First of all, I wish them the best of luck with the studies they will undertake. I hope they pursue their dreams and return to Calabria, not only as students.
