In Avellino, remembrance is becoming a working method. "Officina Irpinia" is an intergenerational school of politics created in the name of Gennaro Bellizzi, promoted by the Bellizzi family together with the association Controvento.
The stated aim is not a purely celebratory commemoration. The project seeks to connect Bellizzi's memory to the themes of his political and social commitment, turning it into civic engagement and public discussion.
At the center is dialogue between generations. The school is designed as a meeting place for young people and adults, with discussion and exchange across age groups as one of its defining features.
Its other central focus is the relationship between the city and the inner areas. The first theme chosen by Officina Irpinia is depopulation and the possibility of staying in Irpinia or returning there.
The first meeting: the right to stay
The inaugural meeting is titled "Il diritto di restare: dibattito pubblico sulla fuga dal Sud Italia. Come invertire il trend?"
According to the local press reports consulted, the meeting is announced for 30 October at 5:30 p.m. at Villa Amendola in Avellino. The sources do not state the year explicitly.
The choice of subject is direct: the departure of young people from the inner areas, and what would be needed to make staying a real choice. The project presents memory here as a practical commitment to making the territory more livable and attractive, rather than only looking back.
The opening discussion is conceived as a public debate involving different generations, alongside associations, political representatives and scholars.
Why this format matters for readers
For residents, the interest lies less in the ceremony than in the questions the school puts on the table. The first is generational: what younger and older residents expect from public life in Irpinia, and where those expectations meet or diverge.
The second is territorial: whether Irpinia can offer concrete conditions in which remaining or returning becomes a choice. The consulted reports frame this as the core of the "diritto di restare" debate, without presenting ready-made answers.
No complete programme of meetings beyond the inaugural event was available in the sources consulted, and no official page with registration details or an updated calendar was identified. Readers interested in attending should therefore verify the time and venue arrangements locally before going to Villa Amendola.
What is confirmed is the starting point: a school named for Gennaro Bellizzi, built around intergenerational dialogue, beginning with depopulation and the future of Irpinia's inner areas.
