Abstract
In recent years, I had the chance to observe a great willingness to resist and
remain in spite of everything in many villages of Southern Italy affected by depopulation.
Many young and adult people, often returning from emigration, have found a space for a
possible regeneration. I have also seen many openings of small bookshops and museums,
not only intended as economical and cultural activities, but also as spaces for memory, sociality, and resilience. In this paper a few small museums of ‘restanza” are mentioned, places
where groups or associations or even just individuals have gathered and showcased objects
of the community’s traditional culture, ‘lost’ objects to which they try to give a new life.
Keywords: Restanza, Memory, Museum, Resilience.