Le Vie dei Tesori: a bottom-up project for civic participation and urban regeneration with Marco Coico

Le Vie dei Tesori transforms cities by turning them into open-air museums, combining social innovation, urban regeneration and the creation of cultural welfare. It is an innovative and inclusive project born with a bottom-up approach, engaging young people, students, innovators and local communities in a large scheme of civic participation and networking with hundreds of public and private partners. Le Vie dei Tesori has made the promotion of Sicily's cultural heritage a tool for civic participation and social cohesion, involving local communities in the knowledge of their territories. This is achieved through restoration and redevelopment projects in abandoned areas, generating sustainable economy (with an economic impact of 8 million in 2025), combating unemployment and preventing the migration of young people, while fostering hope and good practices. In its 20 years of operation, the Foundation has connected institutions, associations, for-profit and non-profit entities, building a network capable of promoting a participatory and shared model as a response to Sicily's historical difficulty in forming a cohesive system. Additionally, it contributes to making tourism less seasonal and more sustainable, proposing a territorial marketing approach centered around culture and knowledge. As its main activity, since 2006, the Foundation organizes the largest cultural festival in terms of participants and complexity, taking place between September and November. Over time, this has become the primary event dedicated to the discovery and enhancement of Sicily's heritage: more than 500 venues are opened to the public and more than 300 cultural activities are carried out in 20 cities and 50 rural villages in Sicily.