I made a translation from Italian, I hope it is clear
Wayspot Proposal for CONF.A.E.L. CAF and Patronato
Genzano di Roma RM
Appeal Not Accepted
2025-12-30
Appeal Notes
Dear Review Team, I would like to draw your attention to the importance of this location for the community of Genzano di Roma. This center performs a social function similar to that of a post office, but with added value in terms of assistance and guidance to citizens. While the post office is the place where taxes and bills are paid, this CAF/Patronato represents the previous and fundamental step: it is the place where citizens go to understand their tax rights and obligations. In a complex bureaucratic system, this center offers a free interpretation and support service that allows everyone (especially those who cannot afford a private accountant) to manage their paperwork. Why it should be accepted: Public Services Hub: Just like a post office or a library, it is a point of reference where the community converges on a daily basis. Social Support: It serves a public purpose, helping the most vulnerable segments of the population navigate taxes and social security, acting as a pillar of local civic life. Incentive to Socialization: Neighborhood residents use this space as a meeting place and a place to exchange information, making it a vital hub in the social fabric of Via Chatillon. Uniqueness: It is not a generic commercial establishment, but a legally recognized social welfare organization (Patronato) that offers public services. Access is safe, located on a wide sidewalk, and the sign is clearly visible and permanent. I kindly ask you to reconsider the proposal as a âplace of aggregation and public serviceâ essential to the local community. Thank you for your review. https://www.itaxa.it/blog/dizionario/caf-centri-di-sistenza-fiscale/#:~:text=I%20Caf%20(Centri%20di%20assistance,both%20persone%20fisiche%20sia%20imprese. https://www.patronato.com/news/3665/caf-patronato-differenze.html?srsltid=AfmBOoppJf9fyyLDcMcz5BWqdzry6Q52PGtw9YFeVvNYIEpbkTzW8NHK
Note from Niantic
Thanks for the appeal, Wayfinder! As per the nomination context, we cannot verify how this Accountant service is locally significant to your community. We suggest that you add more information explaining why this service is important for the local community in a new nomination. This can greatly increase the odds of this nomination getting approved. We recommend you review the content guidelines before submitting your next Wayspot contribution: Content Guidelines â Wayfarer Help Center
Reviewers provided the following main reasons for rejecting this proposal:
The proposal lacks uniqueness or cultural and historical significance.
Description
Local reference point offering essential tax assistance (CAF), social security (Patronato), and consumer protection services. An important center for support and guidance for residents of the neighborhood.
Location
Via Chatillon, 42, 00045 Genzano di Roma RM, Italy
Additional Information
This location represents an important service hub for the local community, promoting citizen assistance and bringing people together to resolve social and bureaucratic issues. Access is safe via a public sidewalk.
This does not appear to be a great place to socialise, a great place to exercise, or a great place to explore, and trying to compare it to a post office seems to be a very odd thing to do when they donât appear to have any similarities.
Post offices are eligible under the great place to socialise category because they facilitate keeping you in touch with distant friends. Nowadays we have the internet that does a better job at that, but you can still have penpals who you write to with pen and paper. What you have submitted is not really anything like that.
Out of curiosity, did you try to use AI to make this sound eligible?
Perhaps in other places, post offices only perform the function of shipping. In Italy, it is not like this. The post offices are true and proper service centers. They allow for the payment of duties and taxes through payment slips. They have true and proper bank accounts and are one of the state-approved digital identity providers (SPID). The Patronato and the CAF are similar to the post office in this regard, as they are service centers where the community meets to understand which taxes must be paid (the Italian system works this way). I used AI specifically to find and list the criteria that were being met.
Like @hankwolfman stated, Post Offices are acceptable due to the âSocialisingâ by keeping in touch with Friends / Family that are not local.
The fact that you nomination does other thinks does not make it eligible (so do UK Post Offices) but does your nomination do the thing that makes it eligible as stated above.
Many post offices in the UK also provide the additional services you mention. This doesnât make them eligible and doesnât help the submissions. They are eligible by virtue of being post offices and providing postal services; everything else is superfluous (for wayfarer).
To add to the eligibility of post offices⊠(and probably showing my age here)
Especially in small towns, the local post office is (was?) a social hub. Itâs where people go (once went?) to catch up on news (and gossip) within their community. It was the place where people would learn what was happening outside of town.
Most of that is now anachronistic at best, but thatâs part of the historical basis of why post offices qualify under the social criterion.
An accountantâs office as a social gathering space? Apologies to the OP, but Iâm not seeing that.
"I understand that from a global perspective, these might look like standard offices, but in the Italian context, CAF (Centri di Assistenza Fiscale) and Patronato offices serve a much deeper purpose, very similar to why Post Offices are considered eligible community anchors.
It is important to clarify a few key points:
Not Private Commercial Offices: A CAF or Patronato is not a private accountantâs office (commercialista). They are institutional entities approved and regulated by the Italian Revenue Agency (Agenzia delle Entrate) and the Ministry of Labour. They act as the primary bridge between the State and the citizens.
A Social Necessity: In Italy, these offices are where the community gathers to manage essential social rightsâfrom pensions and maternity leaves to social security and disability support. For many residents, especially the elderly, these are the most important points of reference in a neighborhood.
The âPost Officeâ Parallel: Just as Niantic views Post Offices as social hubs rather than just places to buy stamps, CAF and Patronato offices are permanent, recognizable landmarks that define the local social fabric. They are âanchorâ locations where people interact daily and find support.
Community Identity: These offices are not temporary businesses; they are long-standing institutions that characterize the square or the street they are in. They are fundamental to the âidentity of the local neighborhood,â which is a core principle of Nianticâs eligibility criteria.
We should look at these locations not through the lens of âadministrative paperwork,â but as essential community hubs that provide social cohesion, making them perfect candidates for being local landmarks."
You are ignoring what to others is the obvious fact that people donât go here to âSocialiseâ, they go to sort out the paperwork etc. Whilst there the may socialise but this is not what they go there for.
You keep ignoring that Post Offices are places to socialise because of there use to send letters / parcels etc, something you nominations donât.
You could use this argument for loads of ineligible places.
Example: In the UK if caught speeding you may be offered a âSpeed Awareness Courseâ where you go somewhere and in a group you discuss why you shouldnât speed. They will take breaks where people might discuss what happened when they got caught. This is socialising but doesnât make the location eligible.
"You are overlooking the fact that, based on the specific criteria provided for âA great place to socialize with othersâ, Post Offices are explicitly listed as an eligible category.
The definition of such a place is:
âA favorite gathering place for friends or strangers alike, where you can share a drink or food, be entertained, or watch the world go by, or a place that brings us together to share an experience in a local and culturally relevant way.â
Nowhere in the official guidelines is it stated that Post Offices are only accepted if people go there specifically to send letters. This is neither specified nor implied. Instead, it is evident that the clause regarding a âplace that brings us together to share an experience in a local and culturally relevant wayâ is the governing principle here.
The argument that others Offices should be excluded because people visit them for âbureaucracyâ rather than âsocializingâ is a subjective and arbitrary interpretation. This specific, restrictive condition does not exist in any written criteria. By the letter of the guidelines, Post Offices qualify as community hubs that facilitate a shared local experience, regardless of the specific administrative task being performed.
I am not overlooking that, problem for you is âYou are overlooking the fact that, based on the specific criteria provided for âA great place to socialize with othersâ, Post Offices are explicitly listed as an eligible category but the CAF or Patronato is not.â
Why donât CAFs and patronatos exist outside of Italy? But in terms of relevance and local meeting points, thereâs little difference between CAFs, patronatos, ACIs, and post offices. Theyâre places that serve the local community.
Any generic business, chartiy or government office provides a service or disservice to the community. It does not make them good places to meet a group of friend, nor are they places a random local or tourist would want to go and explore. Further no random person does train their body or mind there.
I clean the walkway around our shared property, hence I am a service provider. This does not make my shed, myself, nor my home a wayspot.
