Satoshi Nakamoto Comes to Fornelli — Just Not in Person

Fornelli: The Village Where Bitcoin Is Part of Everyday Life

In the southern Italian region of Molise lies the small town of Fornelli. Tourists wander in to soak up the silence, the sweeping landscapes, and the timeless charm of a classic borgo (those little villages often left off tourist maps but rich with history and character). 

However, Fornelli has a surprise: it has thrown itself into the world of cryptocurrency.

Today, nearly two dozen businesses, including cafes, shops, pharmacies, and salons, accept Bitcoin as payment. For a town of just 1,839 residents, it is a surprisingly vibrant crypto scene. 

The movement began with a group of local young people. According to the mayor, the town’s administration chose to support the initiative, giving it room to grow rather than standing in the way.

“We have a responsibility to listen to what young people are proposing. Their ideas are often worth exploring,” says Giovanni Tedeschi, mayor of Fornelli.

The adoption of cryptocurrency in this small Italian town has become a successful attempt to find new approaches to governance and local economics, without giving up its traditional way of life. While Fornelli does not yet have crypto ATMs, the nearest one is located in Campobasso, about 50 kilometers away, and according to operator Shitcoins.club, it stays busy.

The town is actively expanding its use of cryptocurrency, promoting digital wallets for local transactions and backing educational programs to help residents better understand blockchain technology.

The Nakamoto Monument: A Grassroots Idea

Fornelli will unveil its monument to Satoshi Nakamoto on May 1. The initiative came from 24-year-old local artist Mattia Pannoni, who specializes in digital art and photography. It was Pannoni who proposed the idea of a monument to remind people that decentralization is not an abstract theory, but part of everyday life.

The town chose Umberto I, its main square, as the site for the monument. Funding for the project rests with the municipal government, which also launched a donation campaign to support the installation. It will be the first monument to Nakamoto in Italy—and one of the few anywhere in the world.

Although details about the monument’s design remain scarce, it is known that the work will focus on two central ideas: anonymity and openness—the core principles that launched Bitcoin’s story.

In 2022, Pannoni unveiled a digital installation called Utican at Times Square in New York as part of the Art Innovation Gallery exhibition. The piece, displayed on a giant 50-by-30-meter screen, earned enthusiastic reviews and later sold at auction for €8,500. 

Moreover, Utican became Pannoni’s first work to appear on SuperRare as an NFT.

For more on the topic, see our feature “Top NFT Photographers.”

Satoshi Monuments Around the World

Fornelli is not the only town that chose to honor Satoshi Nakamoto. 

• In 2021, Budapest unveiled a bronze bust of Nakamoto—faceless—to reflect the idea that Bitcoin’s true creator is anyone who believes in the freedom of the network.
• In Switzerland, a sculpture almost disappears when viewed from certain angles. 
• Kyiv, Lugano, and even El Salvador have also honored Satoshi Nakamoto with their own monuments.

Each monument interprets the same idea in its own way. And in every case, the initiative came from the ground up—from people who see decentralization as something greater than just a financial tool.

For more on these projects, check out our article “Iconic Monuments Dedicated to Crypto Legends.”

Fornelli is not a tech capital or a tourist hotspot. It has no conference centers or globally launched startups. 

But maybe that is where the real symbolism lies.

When a small community adopts digital tools by choice, the result is often remarkable and refreshingly practical. 

Fornelli’s monument to Satoshi will stand as a symbol of how even a traditional Italian town can talk about technology without the fanfare or clichés.

Ultimately, projects like this help Web3 move beyond market charts and closer to everyday life, where technology becomes part of the ordinary fabric of daily routines.