Chiesti i fondi per completare il polo Agroalimentare delle Dop

The recovery of "La Balzana", the largest confiscated real estate complex in Italy, destined to become the Agroalimentary Park of Campania's typical products, is progressing; however, funding for the final lot, number 5, worth 15.5 million euros, remains lacking. This portion is meant for the cultivation of local specialties. Agrorinasce, the company that promoted the conversion of the confiscated property, and the Municipality of Santa Maria la Fossa, where the large estate is located, are requesting the government's approval for the last tranche of financing.

They made this request at an event titled "Cohesion Policies and Confiscated Assets" held yesterday, attended by Italy's Minister for Cohesion Policies Tommaso Foti and Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Wanda Ferro, among others. Present were also Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri of the Republic of Naples, Director Maria Rosaria Laganà of the National Agency for Seized and Confiscated Assets, and Commissioner Paola Spena.

The mayor of Santa Maria la Fossa, Nicolino Federico, the president of Agrorinasce Maria Antonietta Troncone, and Agrorinasce's CEO Giovanni Allucci welcomed the attendees. Italy's Minister Foti accepted the invitation, stating, "Confiscated assets cannot be considered assets whose existence concludes with the confiscation decree, but it is at that very moment that the rebirth of the asset must occur, with a refocusing here at La Balzana already visible.

If there is an executive project for the fifth lot, we will do our part." La Balzana, formerly the site of Francesco Schiavone, known as 'Sandokan', and Francesco Bidognetti, the reputed leaders of the Casal di Principe camorra clan, is an agroalimentary center of about 200 hectares of land, houses, and rural structures. Confiscated from the clans and given to the Municipality of Santa Maria la Fossa (Caserta) in 2017, this project aims to become a regional agroalimentary park dedicated to agricultural production, processing, training, research, accommodation, and rural tourism.

The project seeks to transform one of the symbols of the camorra's economic power into a place of development and legality, and it was the first "model project" approved by the National Strategy for the Valorization of Confiscated Assets through cohesion policies. La Balzana initially received a 15 million euro funding in 2019, followed by two funding rounds from the Region of Campania, totaling approximately 4.5 million euros.

A recent allocation of 8.5 million euros from the Cipess was then earmarked for the completion of lot 4 and the recovery of the residential zone of the agricultural village, including villas and the village square. In total, this brings the funding to 43.5 million euros. "A lot of work has been done on La Balzana," said Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri of the Republic of Naples.