Production of Territorial Identities, Depopulation and Restanza in the “Wheat Village”

Abstract

Campofelice di Fitalia, since 2009 called the “Wheat Village”, is a small municipality in the Metropolitan City of Palermo located in an inland area of Sicily characterized by marginality and rurality. In this context, it has been possible to observe, through field research, on one hand, depopulation and population aging dynamics, and on the other hand, phenomena of restanza and innovative production of territorial identity. Through brief semi-structured interviews with young individuals (aged 18-29) who have participated to civil service project in the community, primarily supporting the elderly as well as the community as a whole, we will intercept narratives and perceptions of the Campofelice di Fitalia community that are more oriented towards the future. This contribution will then present locally developed tools to counter the decline of the farming community and strengthen the sense of belonging not only at the local level, but also among emigrants and across different generations of residents.