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All Italy Monreale Borgo Schiro

Borgo Schiro

Abandoned village in Sicily built during the agricultural reforms of Mussolini.

Monreale, Italy

Added By
CJMarchitello
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Borgo Schiro   trolvag/CC BY-SA 3.0
Borgo Schiro   trolvag/CC BY-SA 3.0
Looking at main square.   http://www.panoramio.com/photo/867709
Malvello Vineyard (foreground) during the harvest in 2006.   CJ Marchitello, 2006
View of the abandoned village.   http://www.panoramio.com/photo/867709
Borgo Schiro Chiesa   claus donau / Atlas Obscura User
Borgo Schiro Laboratorio Antimalarico   claus donau / Atlas Obscura User
Borgo Schiro_Fontana (Franz von Assisi/Cantico della Creature: “Laudato sii, o mio Signore, per sora Acqua”)   claus donau / Atlas Obscura User
Borgo Schiro Alimentari   claus donau / Atlas Obscura User
Borgo Schiro Graffiti_02   claus donau / Atlas Obscura User
Borgo Schiro Graffiti_01   claus donau / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Borgo Schiro is an abandoned village located in Sicily. Named after a local hero, Schiro, the village lies on a small rise and overlooks the surrounding fields.

Borgo Schiro was built during the time the Italian dictator Mussolini controlled the area and was part of the agricultural reforms instituted by his government to stem the tide of people emigrating from Sicily. Mussolini believed that if the amenities of a city such as schools, hospitals. and entertainment could be made available in the countryside, the local population would choose to remain and work the surrounding land thereby increasing agricultural production.

Though funds were heavily invested in Mussolini's concept, Sicily suffered tremendous turmoil prior to and during World War II. Without the necessary subsidies to continue operation, the various amenities ceased functioning and the village was abandoned.

Today you can walk along Borgo Schiro's quiet streets and peer inside the various structures that once housed a bustling population. The local villagers are ethnically Albanian and the language spoken in surrounding villages is a dialect called Arberesh.

Related Tags

Fascism Abandoned Outsider Architecture

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Borgo Schiro lies 23.86 km from the nearby village of Monreale.

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Community Contributors

Added By

CJMarchitello

Edited By

stephie91, ronin, Michelle Cassidy, claus donau

  • stephie91
  • ronin
  • Michelle Cassidy
  • claus donau

Published

October 25, 2010

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Sources
  • Creative Destruction: http://creativedestruction.se/?page_id=4407
  • Panoramio: Borgo Schiro: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/867709
  • Borgo Schiro: http://italia.indettaglio.it/eng/sicilia/palermo_monreale_borgoschiro.html
Borgo Schiro
9046 Monreale
Monreale, 90046
Italy
37.875008, 13.228621
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