Casa Verona, in Pavilion 20 of the Arsenale, the centre for the promotion of sports culture in view of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, was the venue for the project's final meeting. Re-Gen found its maximum expression and consensus in the regeneration of spaces dedicated to sports, particularly street sports.
During the meeting, Mayor Damiano Tommasi presented a plaque recognising sporting merit to the young skaters who won the world roller skating title in Beijing in 2025.
Speakers at Casa Verona:
- Damiano Tommasi, Mayor of Verona
- Jacopo Buffolo, Councillor for Youth Policies of the Municipality of Verona
- Elisa Dalle Pezze, President of the 2nd District
- Federico Centomo, Councillor of the 2nd District
- Marco Buemi, Lead Partner of the project
- Paolo Marocchio, Le Fate ets Association
- Gaia Gennaro, Nuova Acropoli Association
- Artiskate: the young world champions in roller skating Matilde Erbisti, Giulia Brandolini, Agnese Gregorio, Chiara Antonello and their coaches Sabrina Scatizzi and Stefania Poli.
Speech by the Mayor of Verona, Damiano Tommasi, awarding the young Artiskate skaters:
This project has the merit of giving visibility to many sports that would otherwise not have it, where so much effort is made by families to support their children. As an administration, we are close to these realities, even when it comes to girls and boys who play sports in their daily lives, and not necessarily athletes destined to win. Balancing study hours and training hours for these very young girls is a challenge, so congratulations to them for the results they have achieved with passion and commitment. We stand alongside the institutions in trying to provide facilities that are in line with their goals and to support their commitment and that of their families, in skating as in other sports in the Verona area.
Statement by the Councillor for Youth Policies, Jacopo Buffolo:
The theme of urban regeneration is what attracted us to this project, which also led us to compare it with the city of Milan, where the San Siro areas had certain similarities with our urban spaces in Borgo Roma and Golosine. It was a political choice to focus on these neighbourhoods in southern Verona, where many activities are already underway: we reopened the Link space, carried out various projects with the ABC Association, with the Centro 6 Maggio on underground culture, and with Nuova Acropoli at Parco San Giacomo and Santa Teresa, an area in need of attention and participation. Thanks to Re-gen, our work with schoolchildren has enabled young people to play an active role in rethinking spaces in favour of street sports. Another important aspect has been the exchange with other European cities on these strategic issues for our city, creating a network of relationships that Re-Gen must now build on to make a further leap in quality.
With the participation of:
Dr Giuseppe Baratta and Dr Paolo Martini, Sports and Wellbeing Department, Municipality of Verona
And the associations, schools and organisations that took part in the initiatives:
Parkour Verona ads – Agape Skatepare – Buster Basket – Illusion Records – Gardadanze Accademia 19 – Spazio ABC – Centro Aperto Bambù– Cooperativa Sociale L'albero
Associazione Banco di Comunità – Skatepark Galliano – Centro Danza Libera
Ordine degli Architetti di Verona
Biblioteche del Comune di Verona
Istituto Comprensivo Verona 10-11 “Mario Mazza” lower secondary school – Istituto Comprensivo Verona 10-11 – “Egidio Meneghetti” lower secondary school – Istituto Comprensivo Verona 12 – “Alessandro Manzoni” lower secondary school – ITES - Luigi Einaudi Verona
Project results and impact
As part of the Re-Gen project, the Municipality of Verona involved over 300 students and young people from the Mazza, Manzoni, Meneghetti and Liceo Einaudi schools through hackathons, online questionnaires and urban sports tests. Last spring's community events enlivened the Borgo Roma and Golosine neighbourhoods with the Sport & the City Festivals, which brought together more than 500 participants for sports activities, workshops, music and urban culture. At the same time, the Fabrica Urbana initiative saw young people take part in neighbourhood walks, co-design and tactical urbanism in Piazza Brodolini, also involving local residents. The process resulted in a concrete transformation of the square with the application of urban graphics created by the young people. The Re-Gen experience strengthened the sense of belonging and demonstrated how active participation can reactivate underused public spaces. Overall, the project involved more than 2,600 young people in nine European cities. Marco Buemi, Lead Partner, URBACT Re-Gen Project
