Reinventing Cities: New Life for the Deserted Space of Ex Filanda in Rome

The project launched by C40, the rehabilitation of Ex Filanda south of the Italian capital, will ensure a new dynamism with co-working, painting and gastronomy.

Born as a manufacturing enterprise, old Filanda is set to be reborn thanks to the reinvention of cities. Abandoned, the Roman site overlooking the Orléans Wall, between the Basilica of St. John Lateran and the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, was destroyed by three fires in 2015. It was therefore included in the third edition of the international program aimed at resilient, emissions-free urban renewal.

Reinventing cities, an opportunity for urban renewal for Rome

The initiative is based on the C40 (Cities Climate Leadership Group), a network of 96 cities around the world, committed to combating climate and environmental emergencies. C40 helps cities collaborate with each other and share their knowledge in order to achieve an inclusive, prosperous and sustainable future. Besides Rome, twelve cities took part in this new version of the reinvention of cities, including three more Italian cities: Bologna, Bristol, Houston, Izmir, Lyon, Phoenix, Montreal, Naples, Milan, San Francisco and Sao Paulo.

A former Filanda renovation project has just been awarded a winner – a temporary business association made up of It’s and Cam Spa – which will transform the former space devoted to crafts into a collective hub open to the public, through workspaces and offices. For events, coloring and gastronomy.

New urban and social dynamics

The project also stimulates a recent study that plans to redevelop the urban area associated with Viale Castrense, in response to the arrival of the two new Line C metro stations (Pigneto and San Giovanni), anticipate the reopening of the passage connecting the Aurelian Walls and possibly consider a partial pedestrianization of Viale Castrense with the existing Carlo Felice Park actually. Decisions that can generate new urban and social dynamics and promote the creation of a local community, the main values ​​of the C40.