Remote Workers for Remote Villages (Ep. 9) - Elisa Lo Blanco & Roberto Palma
When You Stop Going to Work and Start Choosing
When work is no longer a place
This is Episode 9 of Remote Workers for Remote Villages, and it’s one of those conversations that quietly dismantle a few clichés.
Elisa Lo Blanco and Roberto Palma didn’t “escape to the South.” They didn’t quit everything for a lifestyle experiment, and they didn’t reinvent themselves as something they’re not. They are biomedical engineers who built solid careers in Bologna and then made a deliberate decision: not to change what they do, but to change the conditions under which they do it.
Remote work, in their story, is not a reward or a shortcut. It’s a tool. One that allows them to live between Sicily and Salento, to stay professionally ambitious without being geographically locked in, and—crucially—to avoid turning remote work into isolation.
What makes this episode particularly interesting is what happens after the move: the creation of a rural coworking space out of pure necessity, the discovery that “you’re not the only one” even in a town of 3,000 people, and the slow emergence of informal networks that become social infrastructure. Not ecosystems. Not hubs. Just people solving real problems where they live.
There’s also a less romantic but essential layer: roads that aren’t finished, infrastructure that determines whether a territory works or doesn’t, and the idea that choosing to live somewhere also means taking responsibility for it. Remote workers, in this sense, stop being temporary guests and start behaving like citizens.
The interview is in Italian — sorry, guys — but ITS Journal has done a great job summarising the conversation in English, making it easy to follow even if you don’t speak the language.
If you’re tired of remote-work fairy tales and curious about what actually happens once the honeymoon phase is over, this episode is worth your time.
Watch Episode 9 of Remote Workers for Remote Villages on ITS Journal 👇
