The seed for the current Div.ergo project was planted in 2003 in a simple room: eight volunteers and four young people with varying mental abilities - Serena, Francesca, Valentina, and Tony.

For them, after finishing school, we envisioned an experience where they could feel useful, and capable, and make room for their desire to learn and test themselves, where they could spend each day in the company of friends, side by side. The creations and places have changed; new volunteers and other artists with disabilities gradually joined that small initial group.

Wecontinued to dream: a place in the “heart” of Lecce where we could meet many people, share the beauty of our time together, improve and offer increasingly refined objects, and let our dream become one shared by many. The journey wasn’t always straightforward, like every story that forges new paths: we experimented, reworked, erased, discussed, invested our best energy, and intertwined our lives, aiming at the growth of each person’s humanity and creating a place “where everyone’s dreams can find a home.”

Today-an “today” that has lasted since 2009—Div.ergo welcomes people of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities who come seeking comfort, hope, and inspiration: citizens and tourists, groups of scouts and catechism classes, entire school groups taking part in the “Learning Diversity” project, VIPs, and ordinary people.

Div.ergo doesn’t merely make objects; it’s a work of art created collectively, a place where humanity is expressed, touched by others, changed, transformed to bring forth the new. You’ll find us there, working, exchanging words and care, ready to welcome anyone who crosses our threshold.