Urban resilience. Facing catastrophe, rebuilding community

We live in a realm where the specter of apocalyptic calamity is ever present, casting its shadow over our daily existence and evoking our deepest fears. A day may come when the bakery, the bus stop or, worse, the school will no longer exist. Everything we know and love could be swept away and reduced to rubble. History teaches that during these trials the indomitable human resilience shines through, unwavering and determined. Though plagued by anguish, we would soon find the strength to begin again. We would be guided by the memory of the places we had lost, the stories we used to tell, and our shared imagination. Digging through the rubble, we would once again discover hidden treasures and forgotten stories. Technology can enable us to preserve the image of the lost city in secure and geographically distant servers. From this multifaceted heritage we can rebuild our city. Like an eternal Rome. This article aims to explore, through the dystopian image of an imminent catastrophe, the potential of urban storytelling. Starting from a project carried out in the city of Formia (Latina, Italy), it addresses the issue of augmented reality applied to the existing city as an opportunity to unveil the urban invisible, with the aim of engaging citizens of all age in the creation of a new active and responsible community that takes care of the polis and its riches.