The thesis addresses the economic emigration and cultural fragmentation of Mamoiada, a mountain town in Sardinia. The research identifies communal winemaking as a central cultural ritual and economic engine for the region.

The architectural proposal is a distributed network of interventions integrated into the urban fabric. These interventions include a communal winery located near Piazza Europa, utilizing a construction system of concrete-stone aggregate, vaults, and lightweight timber. The design provides flexible, multi-purpose spaces that facilitate community ownership and social interaction alongside production.

The project utilizes abandoned and underutilized sites to reactivate the town’s topography. This methodology offers a replicable model for micro-interventions that create a cooperative economic and social system.

This essay critiques the binary framing of rural revitalization as either top-down or bottom-up by comparing two Italian case studies: Gibellina Nuova and Peccioli. Gibellina, rebuilt after an earthquake, began with local support but evolved into a top-down cultural project disconnected from residents’ needs. Peccioli, often praised as a bottom-up success, used landfill revenues to fund public works and art, but maintained centralized leadership and limited dissent.

Through qualitative analysis of governance structures, public narratives, and community responses, the study reveals both cases as hybrid models shaped by ongoing negotiations between authorities and communities. Participation, it argues, is not guaranteed by origin but by the depth, openness, and continuity of engagement over time.

The thesis proposes a new framework for rural revitalization focused on flexible governance, genuine participation, power transparency, and the integration of local and expert knowledge. Success, it concludes, depends less on governance models and more on sustained, inclusive dialogue and adaptability to community needs.