Sports, Education, and 38 Years of Impact: Narconon Gabbiano’s Growing Role in Salento

 

Narconon Gabbiano is a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center at Contrada Sentinella in Torre dell'Orso, near Lecce on the southeastern tip of Italy, in the Salento region. Also known as “Narconon Top,” it began in 1992 when a program graduate started a small group and moved to its current facility in Torre dell'Orso in 1995. It runs the Narconon program, which includes: a drug-free withdrawal, the New Life Detoxification in the center's sauna, and the life skills training that follows. Gabbiano is one of the Italian Narconon centers organized under Narconon South Europe.

A Sponsored Volleyball Team

Narconon Gabbiano sponsors the Volley Melendugno team, which plays with the Narconon logo on its jerseys. In February 2024, the team, Narconon Melendugno, held a presentation event to receive its new uniform shirts bearing the Narconon logo, captured live on local television by Telerama News. Later that month, the sponsored team appeared in the media in its new jerseys. In September 2025, the Lecce Prima newspaper published two positive articles on the Narconon volleyball team.

Drug Education and Community Outreach

The center takes its prevention work to young people and the wider community. In March 2024, staff delivered a lecture to 75 students at a local school in the town of Giovinazzo, in the Province of Bari.

That same month, Narconon Gabbiano joined the “Galattica Project,” a competition among community outreach activities in which selected projects receive sponsorship. In July 2025, the center took part in World Drowning Prevention Day, proclaimed by the United Nations for July 25, alongside other organizations and authorities.

In February 2026, staff delivered a drug education lecture to the Under 13 Volley Melendugno team as part of a campaign called “Academy NextGen,” which promotes a healthy lifestyle to youth.

On National Television

In July 2024, Narconon Gabbiano's Qualifications Secretary, Andra Pascucci, was interviewed on the national broadcast Channel 5 about the rise in drug abuse in Italy. The channel reaches more than 2.84 million viewers.

Recognition on the Program's Sixtieth Anniversary

In 2026, as the Narconon program marked its 60th anniversary, Narconon Gabbiano received recognition tied to its 38 years of work in Salento. In February, Dr. Domenico Macchione, administrator of Narconon Volley Melendugno, presented the center with a plaque honoring the program and L. Ron Hubbard, its founder. The following month, the Mayor of Melendugno, Maurizio Cisternino, presented the center’s Executive Director with a plaque.

“The Municipality of Melendugno thanks the Narconon program, based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard, for the work carried out and for having saved many people during these 38 years of continuous activity.”

The citation, dated 13 February 2026, read: “The Municipality of Melendugno thanks the Narconon program, based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard, for the work carried out and for having saved many people during these 38 years of continuous activity.”

Narconon Gabbiano continues its work in Salento, taking people through the Narconon program and back to a drug-free life while carrying its prevention message to the communities around it.