Reggio Emilia, August 17, 2026 – Three hundred people this morning responded to the activists’ call for a sit-in at Bosco Ospizio. All gathered on the sidewalk along Via Emilia, from 5 a.m. citizens and environmentalists began the protest to defend the green area where, according to an agreement between the Municipality and Conad Centro Nord, work must begin for the construction of a new supermarket and a building that will house the territorial hub, health center, and library.
Excavators, Digos, and police absent
Early this morning the excavators were expected, however, they did not show up; Digos and State Police were also absent, at 9 a local police patrol arrived at the sit-in to regulate traffic along the sidewalk and ensure the safety of drivers and protest participants.
Permanent sit-in since August 3
The permanent sit-in began last August 3 and in those days the activists’ action, positioned between the barriers delimiting the intervention area and the excavators, blocked the work. Since that day there has been no further sign of the construction site resuming.
Conad’s complaint
Meanwhile, Conad filed a complaint against unknown persons for trespassing on private property (as it was purchased by Conad) and private violence (for stopping the work). Shortly before Ferragosto, Digos issued new instructions regarding the position of the sit-in, delimiting it to the sidewalk of Via Emilia and no longer in front of the forest. In the last two weeks, the deputy mayor Lanfranco de Franco and, more recently, the mayor Marco Massari have intervened from the Municipality: both recognizing the reasons and the scope of the mobilization created by the Bosco Ospizio assembly, which attracted people from all over Italy to Reggio, have not shown a willingness for a different solution but have reiterated the administration’s openness to dialogue and listening.
Activists demand suspension of work
“We have been calling for that listening for over two years and today we ask for it more urgently than ever, but provided that it happens here and now, at Bosco Ospizio, and with the immediate suspension of the work – state the activists -. Bosco Ospizio is the right opportunity at the right time to open a window of possibility and political feasibility in the face of the climate crisis.”
“We reiterate once again our willingness to sit at the table with the administration and Conad, with the prefecture as guarantor, to weigh alternatives to the project and discuss them together – they add -. Mending the rift between services and nature is possible, indeed, the Assembly is already doing it.”
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