Reggio Emilia, August 13, 2026 – The battle over the so-called ‘Ospizio forest’ will also open on the judicial front. Conad Centro Nord has indeed filed a complaint against the protesters’ sit-in who oppose the construction of a new supermarket and a building intended for public services in the 45,000 square meter green area overlooking Via Emilia, constructions planned by the Urban Redevelopment Plan signed in 2015 by the consumer cooperative and the Municipality.
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Conad has submitted a request to the Prefecture to ask for the protest to stop
This is not the only action taken: Conad also recently submitted a request to the Prefecture asking that the protest be stopped or continue in other ways. Conad’s complaint was already filed with the Prosecutor’s Office on August 3, the date scheduled for the start of preliminary activities at the construction site after the Municipality had granted building permits in February. But that day, and the following one as well, bulldozers and tractors did not enter and then did not show up again: a few dozen protesters stood in front of the machinery, sitting or standing, from dawn to dusk, acting as a human fence to preserve the greenery grown in the park of the disused nursing home.
Conad has filed a complaint against unknown persons
Conad has filed a complaint against unknown persons, also attaching the TAR order dated July 21 which affirmed the right to start the construction site. The administrative judges had rejected the immediate suspension of the works requested by Legambiente and other citizens within a broader appeal, still ongoing, which seeks the annulment of all acts, from 2006 onwards, that led to the approval of the Pru Ospizio. The Parma court rejected the precautionary request asking for the immediate stop of the works: “No ‘urban forest’ can be identified – the order states – and it is undisputed that the project provides for the planting of over 1,350 trees as well as the transfer to the Municipality of about 20,000 square meters of green areas.”
Invasion of private property and private violence
This is a direct reference to the compensation works in the project that activists reject, wanting instead to save the greenery and trees grown over the years in full. In the complaint, Conad mainly identifies two crimes committed by the protesters: invasion of private property, because it was purchased by Conad; private violence for having prevented the start of preparatory works at the construction site, contracted by Conad to other companies. The protest, extended until August 17 and for which an extension until the end of the month has been requested from the police headquarters, is constantly monitored by the Digos and police officers, supported by the carabinieri: during this period, some protesters have also been identified.
The protest front
The protest front has meanwhile expanded its wave: political figures and supporters from other cities have appeared; three professors from Unimore (including meteorologist Luca Mercalli) and a group of researchers from INGV (National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology) have expressed support for the protection of greenery. In recent days, a request for intervention was sent to the Prefecture to allow the start of the construction site, activating the competent offices and the police headquarters for this purpose: it is requested that the occupation be interrupted or that the sit-in continue, as provided by the right to freely demonstrate, but without preventing the work machinery from operating. The Urban Planning Councillor Carlo Pasini, interviewed by us, had emphasized the importance of the planned compensations and reiterated that the building, in addition to a center for social services and a decentralized library, will also house the Health House. He also stated that, from the Municipality’s point of view, the works could start after obtaining all the authorizations.
The Deputy Mayor Lanfranco de Franco, in a lengthy statement, instead defined the protest as “the wrong occasion for a battle of principle,” inviting the protesters to dialogue.
