“SottoSopra: Abitare Collaborativo” is a project, supported by Fondazione CON IL SUD, aiming to fight housing poverty, proposing an innovative housing model which is based on the inhabitants’ participation as citymakers of their own place where they live.
The project takes place in San Berillo neighbourhood in the town centre of Catania affected by several problem linked to the huge amount of abandoned buildings (60% of buildings are empty), informal housing squatted by emarginated people and social-
cultural poverty.

Project’s approach moved from a deep reflection on the concept of “housing/living” a place, as a collective and participative process aiming to transform spaces by people. Our model tries to respond to the complexity and multifactorial dimension of poverty. By restoring part of the ancient De Gaetani palace, project will start –up new place based services and a social cafeteria, a new social spot where to meet and exchange services and information. Project aims to improve the housing condition of San Berillo by triggering widespread effects on the inhabitant everyday life, promoting physical revitalization, carried out by the beneficiaries and fostering relationship between local community’s
member.

Project will target to a total of 18 former homeless, who will be hosted in the De Gaetani Palace and there they will be followed –up by professional in order to access to services and to receive career counselling and housing opportunities.
Cafeteria is one of the main project’s activities, and it will represent the social and meeting point between inhabitants and people coming from the rest of the city.

Oxfam Italia Intercultura is leading the project in partnership with Trame di Quartiere, Diaconia Valdese, Sunia Catania, Impact Hub e Municipality of Catania.