Historic center of Modica reduced to the bare minimum, an open letter from a bookseller: "Let's try to do something"

A public appeal, directed to the mayor and the president of the city council of Modica, reignites the debate on the future of the historic center.

It was launched by Piera Ficili, a bookseller and owner of a shop on Corso Umberto, who asks the city institutions for “a real and positive dialogue” in the council chamber.

“I am not used to complaining without proposing,” she begins.

“The historic center is in great difficulty, but I do not believe it is an irreversible crisis. Resilient like Modica is.”

Ficili describes a heart of the city that is empty, especially on weekends, and calls for a change of pace: “How much desolation of lowered shutters, bare windows, and abandoned premises. It is not beautiful and it is not Modica.”

A situation that, according to her, can also have repercussions on security: “Probably even episodes of petty crime are a consequence of this.”

The request is clear: to convene a city council open at Palazzo San Domenico, to listen directly to merchants and residents.

“I ask you to open a dialogue in the place designated to do so and that represents all of Modica: the city council,” she states. “The open city council is the start of solutions, the only place to listen to our living voice, without delegations and without exceptions.”

No hunt for culprits, but a method and a path, starting from immediate and concrete interventions.

“We can still do something and do it well, starting from simple things and then building more complex plans,” explains Ficili. “I will not come with a bag of complaints or impossible dreams. I will say possible, feasible, and achievable things even in a difficult moment like this.”

The bookseller also looks beyond the city borders: “In Vittoria and Ragusa, they are seeking solutions,” she notes, favorably mentioning the services of Video Regione “with a constructive approach and not criticism for its own sake.”

And she distances herself from unproductive controversies: “Continuing to write on social media is useless if not to indulge in inconclusiveness. It is necessary to confront each other in the chamber, to understand and find ways to resolve.”

Ficili does not speak on behalf of categories or associations, but personally, while hoping for broad participation: “I am not a spokesperson for anyone but myself and for the discomfort I feel. I will come – and I am sure others will too – to build and do so by proposing concretely.”

And she concludes with an invitation to the institutions: “The heart of Modica must return to being a place where one can live and work. Make the open city council the first step.”