From marginal place to 'Cornerstone': the 'Transformission' of Monteleone di Puglia (Italy)

This paper analyses the territorial “re-reading” and “re-writing” path undertaken by the small town of Monteleone di Puglia (Foggia) – a topmost centre similar to a lone “Christmas crib” with only 986 residents, located in the subregion of Monti Dauni – in order to face the endemic demographic and economic decline and to project in the contemporary glocal scenario a territorial system which for long time has been considered marginal and devoid of endogenous potential. More specifically, the goal of this research is to highlight the effectiveness and originality of the “transformission” events (odonymy innovations, projects for asylum seekers and refugees, street art, graphic novels, etc.) developed by local community within the framework of a strategic project that considers the landscape as a sort of open museum through which it is possible to be in contact with the historical heritage, the set of values, the sensorial sounds of Monteleone, here intended as non-fungible liminal space.