From March 30 to April 12, 2025, the town of Cellino Attanasio (Abruzzo, Italy) hosted the third Live Experiment of the REVIVE project, supported by Creative Europe. The challenge? Transforming a historic but unused former religious building into a dynamic cultural and community hub.

The site chosen was the former Church of Santo Spirito, a 16th-century structure with a 1700s façade, featuring remarkable terracotta decorations, gothic-inspired windows, and a panoramic external area. Despite its heritage value, the building had long been disconnected from the daily life of the town.

This made it the perfect playground for REVIVE’s vision: to bring together 14 young European talents from 6 countries—Slovenia, Italy, Finland, Spain, Romania, and Croatia—with backgrounds in architecture, design, restoration, communication, sociology, cultural management, and technology. After a six-month online co-design bootcamp, they arrived in Cellino ready to bring their ideas to life.

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From concept to creation
Over two weeks, the participants—supported by local experts and volunteers—co-designed and implemented a series of impactful interventions aimed at transforming the church into a fully functional and welcoming Santo Spirito HUB. Among their achievements:

• A wooden mezzanine with parapet for audiovisual control during events, fully integrated into the architecture

• 8 modular wooden tables, adaptable and multifunctional, hand-painted with patterns inspired by the Castelli ceramic tradition

• Restoration of antique furniture from the former parish house, now reused as info desk and coffee corner

• Backstage optimization, with an artist private area

• Installations in reclaimed fabrics

• A revamped garden area outside, complete with new plants, a freshly painted railing, and a custom photo point to celebrate the scenic view

• A newly launched website and brand identity for the future hub, with the payoff “Explore.Play.Create.Inspire.”

In parallel, the team activated a strong communication campaign on social media, newspaper and so on, documenting the process and involving citizens in storytelling, workshops, and public activities. A powerful intergenerational exhibition gathered memories from local elders and dreams from youth, reconnecting generations around the shared identity of the space.

 

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A town becomes a partner
The local community of Cellino Attanasio played a central role throughout the experiment. Citizens were invited to public meetings, contributed ideas, and engaged daily with the young team. Groups of participants worked specifically on social research and cultural programming, listening to needs and co-creating responses.
The experience culminated in a public closing event on April 11, with a guided tour of the transformed space, followed by a concert by Mo’better band in collaboration with Luzmek and a party that filled the church with music, laughter, and light. The turnout was significant, demonstrating how a regenerated space can become an emotional and social hub.

 

 

What comes next?
Though the young talents returned home on April 12, the impact of the experiment will continue to resonate. The Santo Spirito HUB is now equipped to host co-working sessions, meetings, concerts, exhibitions, and community events. The municipality, in collaboration with ITACA and local stakeholders, is working on a cultural calendar to activate the space long-term.
The Cellino experiment proved that heritage sites, when paired with creativity and community engagement, can be powerful engines for social regeneration—even in small, rural towns. The spirit of REVIVE lives on in every piece of furniture, every brushstroke, and every story shared inside the former church. A new chapter has just begun.