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The roman Villa del Casale in Piazza Armerina in danger.
The emblematic restauration planned by Franco Minissi in 1957 and the integrity of the monument are threatened by a multimillionaire restoration supported by the high commissioner Vittorio Sgarbi.
If we don't react we will soon observe the disappearance of another testimony of Minissi's archaeological restauration.
A culture diffused at higher education levels (also evident in the mass media), tends to consider the restoration as a really positive moment in the life of a monument and it seems that the best results are gotten with great quantities of money. This is false!!!
The execution of a restoration represents a defeat for the organs of guardianship and for society because it's the consequent epilogue of a long and guilty omission of actions, and it records a lack of interest and passion for the monuments, being forced to act with the restoration that, almost in the totality of the cases, would be avoidable.
It is better to confirm: the restoration, also the more it is similar to the integral maintenance, is a traumatic event that must be prevented with works of maintenance. The best restoration is always the one that can be avoided, to guarantee the integrity of the cultural patrimony that would preserve the aura of its authenticity with the consequent saving of the collectivitiy's economic resources.
This preamble is useful to argue the serious danger for the well known archaeological site of the Villa del Casale in Piazza Armerina (Sicily, Italy) in which is pretended to perform a so called "restoration" to consume 25 million of Euro.
After the accidental discovery and the following excavations (img. 1), a first coverage was realized in 1942, in the Triclinium, above the mosaic of Ercole; it was projected by the architect Piero Gazzola in the period he was Superintendent to the Monuments of oriental Sicily. Bricks pillars sustained a wooden structure with sicilian tiles (img. 2). But that first example of coverage doesn't convince, it is too heavy and oppressive of the archaeological rests. Only in 1957, after the judgement of the Superior Council of the Antiquities and Fine Arts, the Public Education Office commissioned the architect Franco Minissi to plan a protection with light and transparent shed. Cesare Brandi, expert in history of art and theorist of the restoration of international fame, actively participated to the project for the coverage of the roman villa, while he was manager of the Central Institute for the Restoration (ICR). Brandi wrote about the theme of restoration of the Roman Villa in an essay concerning the maintenance of the architectures in the state of ruin, published on the ICR Bulletin in 1956, exposing the possible typology to build the coverage of the rests of the villa. The traditional heavy and oppressive typology, similar to Piero Gazzola's one (and very similar to the project that would be liked to realize today), the one in form of a great armed cement dome, conservative for the ruins but not for the environment (very similar to another project proposed in 2004) and, finally, the light and transparent one that Brandi considered the best solution.
Through the rationalization in the assemblage of the various components (essentially exiles metallic structures and modular elements in glass or in transparent plastic laminates), in 1958 (in less than one year) the protective structures for the conservation of the Roman Villa was completed (img. 3, img. 4, img. 5). With a low economic quotation, the protection of the historical architectural complex and its fruition was possible by a museographic project of great talent and originality, with over two thousand square meters covered of mosaics. But these are only the most practical aspects of that project that however contains the maximum concentration of the theoretical reflection on the restoration of monuments, elaborated in the first half of the XX century and, generally, still valid today. Franco Minissi's activity develops after the second world war and is connected to the debate on the purposes of the restoration, due to Brandi and, among the others, Renato Bonelli, Guglielmo De Angelis D'Ossat and Roberto Pane, that intellectualize around its codification. The restoration is always to intend with conservative finality in the fertile dialectics between critical trial and creative action, in the perspective of the attainment of the reinstatement of the mutilates image, only if absolutely necessary. The work of Minissi for the conservation of the archaeological heritage interpreted this debate and translated the theoretical request in concrete realizations that can be considered, for what is regarding the approach of modern materials to archaeological rests, the manifesto of the restoration in the XX century. The manifest that definitely risks to be destroyed.
With the project of Minissi is characterized by an appreciable equilibrium among the protective necessity of the site, constituted by the impalpable transparent structure, and the respect of the magic atmosphere of the archaeological ruin to which, but only graphically, is conferred an ideal spatial dimension that, I definitely say, is lost and no more available through the suppositions of the restorers(img. 6, img. 7).
Just Sicily has represented the laboratory for the experimentation of those new way of restoration and just Minissi has been author of so many projects as the one of Greek town-walls in Capo Soprano (img. 8, img. 9) realized in raw clay bricks, where he built a glass plates cover (1952); as that of the coverage of the Eraclea Minoa theatre (img. 12, img. 13) with shaped perspex elements(1962); as that of the Norman epoch church of St. Nicolò Regale in Mazara del Vallo (1963) in which the no more existing coverage was reconstructed in modern way; in fact it was composed with metallic elements and small transparent plates of perspex that emulated the walls made in sandstone bricks, delineated arcs and dome (img. 16, img. 17, img. 18, img. 19, img. 20, img. 21) and allowed the daylight to flood the inside space (a result with a shocking beauty).
Perhaps, only a few people remember that the just cited restorations don't exist anymore because recently destroyed by consequent wrong restorations (img. 10, img. 11, img. 14, img. 15, img. 22, img. 23). But is it possible? Yes it is. All these examples are concerning monuments never cured applying the plan of maintenance and where, for inactivity, the slow consumption of the materia was attended; the consumption both of materia introduced during the restoration intervention and of the ancient one, that was to be protected. Really, there is only an other archaeological site with transparent roof projected by Minissi, but for the reason you may comprehend… I prefer not to reveal its location… someone could find fabulous financings (img. 24).
It's also important to remember that the solution of Minissi to cover the Roman Villa was always reviewed with enthusiastic judgement and that the project is still considered as one among the most important example of restoration of all times.
In fifty years the coverage of the villa has perfectly developed its function, never receiving works of maintenance, also resisting to vandal actions, attempts of fire, and even a flood. The flood in 1991 caused the coating of the mosaics with a thick blanket of mud. That could has been a good occasion to set a serious project of maintenance, an exploitation of the complex and the solution of the hydro-geologic dangers. But nothing!!! Mud and deposits were simply cleaned without starting studies on the conservation of the mosaics. The only interventions made have always worsened the climatic situation because of the elimination of the solutions to favour the circulation of the air foreseen by the native project of the coverage (img. 25, img. 26, img. 27).
In 1997 the roman villa is enclosed in the UNESCO list of the patrimony of the humanity. This event should have been reacted the responsible persons to promote actions of guardianship and works of reception improvement (think… 500 thousand visitors a year and not even a bathroom) or to detain the actions of vandals and thieves.
To study the possibility to stop vandalisms and thefts (two marmoreal heads are deprived in October 2nd 2006) in 2003 the Sicilian Region named High Commissioner of the villa Bruno Comforti, ex general of the police (the correct person in the correct place) but then conferred that role to the doctor Vittorio Sgarbi, because of his fame of defender of the villa after a brave blitz effected at four o'clock in the morning, perhaps, to meet delinquents. Possible projects are proposed from that moment, but rather than struggle to the crime the projects suddenly concerned the restoration (but what connection was there?). And so, the news of a fabulous financing to realize the immense protecting dome on the archaeological site has begun to circulate.
The fear of a deep alteration of the place has made the protests to rise up and I polled many signatures in Italy to sustain prof. Nigrelli's initiative (University of Catania) that invoked correct interventions to guarantee the permanence of the work of Minissi.
After a few time the commissioner Sgarbi, who first liked a dome of 120 meters diameter and 30 of height (I now realize it was perhaps only a fiction), declares that his new paladin is the architect Guido Meli, manager of the Regional Centre of the Restoration, that is elaborating a conservative project (sic). It seemed a won battle to me. The emblematic restoration of Minissi could keep on overstanding with the opportune interventions of adjustment. A declaration of Meli (released to a daily newspaper) confirmed his conservative intentions: «All the tubular supports of the coverage - Meli says - are rusted and they must be changed; a difficult job, through which we have to get a suitable airing and a greater functionality of the actual system» (Giornale di Sicilia, 17/02/2004). The overconsumption that he went delineating, not always compatible with who sincerely wants to preserve the existing monument perhaps had to alarm. But i felt myself reassured by the role of the Centre directed by the architect Meli, that elaborates (on the whole regional territory) the so called "Carta del rischio" (Paper of the risk), that represents the system for avoiding the restorations to develop in emergency (appraising the risks you can plane works of prevention). I also know that a pilot projects of Meli is applied to the evaluation of the risks of the Roman Villa; this subsequently reassured me, just because some immediate danger didn't shine through. But suddenly, probably for some malefic influence, the troubles arrived all together.
I have to thank prof. Dezzi Bardeschi (Polytechnic of Milan) and prof. Guerrera (University of Palermo) who informed me, in the last days, about a definitive project. But the impulse to write these lines, after I assumed every possible element, come to me after reading the article wrote by commissioner Sgarbi (published in October the 23th on the newspaper "il Giornale") that offers insults to every person who manifested doubts about his initiative. The article reveals that behind that millionaire project there is no cultural program, except for the program to spend all that money that could be loosed.
Now I address to the commissioner Sgarbi the request to remove the risk that the work of Minissi (for the reason I exposed and for the signification related to the evolution of the theories of the restoration) could be destroyed. I hope he understands that it should be as to remove the works of restoration of Raffaele Stern from the Arc of Tito.
I also would like to ask the commissioner Sgarbi if he comprehended how failure to eliminate the structure of the existing coverage it could be, that structure that has really developed its function for fifty years, never receiving works of maintenance, and still efficient, replacing it with another too much expensive and that will need onerous and continuous interventions. The high commissioner hasn't perhaps been informed about the difficulty to maintain in state of exercise the wood of the new cover and the 35.000 square meters of new plasters that the project wants to introduce.
And then I ask to the commissioner to reflect if it's good to eliminate the elegant solution of the existing coverage in the villa to build that heavy and bulky building of total invention that, above all, remember a subrogation of rural house… the place to go to buy fresh eggs (img. 28)…
I hope that the 'good' commissioner Sgarbi understands all that money (for which he ask thankfulness by the Sicilians) will only be the greatest misfortune that could happen to that magic and enchanting place.
I am sure that Minissi's coverage should be put again in the condition to be updated with little expense of money. A part of the remaining money should be employed for the conservation of the mosaics; the rest of the conspicuous financing would be destined to the receptive infrastructures. An other really meritorious initiative would be also the foundation of a permanent laboratory of restoration, where to entertain the graduates, architects and restorers of the University, for apprenticeships and then employment.
I hope the high commissioner Vittorio Sgarbi, well known essayist and tv entertainer, appreciated for the high sense of equilibrium and moderation, soon recedes from his intentions and realizes that the destiny of the roman villa in Piazza Armerina has a fundamental importance for the universal culture and that he cannot be indifferent about a project that erases the integrity and the authenticity of the monument.
I wait for an afterthought of his that decrease the actual embarrassment and the anguish to know that precious cultural heritage in danger. I wish Sgarbi to change idea at least as a tribute to the memory of Cesare Brandi (this year recurs the centennial of the birth).
I finally invite those people who read these lines of mine and consider the conservation of the cultural patrimony as a collective interest to undersign the appeal that follows, addressed to the authorities, because the monumental complex of the roman villa in Piazza Armerina can be saved, in its actual composition (archaeological rests and works of protection and fruition planned by Minissi).
Palermo, october 30th 2006
Franco Tomaselli (frantom@unipa.it)
president of "Monumento Documento" onlus cultural association;
professor of Restoration in the Faculty of Architecture in Palermo;
director of the universitary Master in Restoration of Monuments;
coordinator of the degree course in Restoration and Conservation
of Architectural and Ambiental Heritage in the Facultu of Architecture in Palermo.
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