ArchShowcase 
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Giuseppe Garibaldi Memorial in Caprera (Olbia-Tempio), Italy by PIETRO CARLO PELLEGRINI ARCHITETTOMarch 16th, 2017 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: PIETRO CARLO PELLEGRINI ARCHITETTO Promoted by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers for of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, “Sites of Memory” was a project aimed at rehabilitating several historically significant sites across the peninsula and making them again part of a tangible collective memory. The rehabilitation of the nineteenth century Arbuticci Fort in Caprera, up to the Second World War the headquarters of the military operational defence base of the Italian Navy, was one of such plans. The restoration and preservation design of a site on the island where Garibaldi spent the last years of his life was developed as a dialogue between a contemporary approach and the context’s historical and architectural tradition.  Image Courtesy © PIETRO CARLO PELLEGRINI ARCHITETTO
 Image Courtesy © PIETRO CARLO PELLEGRINI ARCHITETTO
 Image Courtesy © PIETRO CARLO PELLEGRINI ARCHITETTO  Image Courtesy © PIETRO CARLO PELLEGRINI ARCHITETTO The plan was to build in an existing building – the decommissioned fort located in one of the most amazing sceneries in the Maddalena Archipelago – to create a site devoted to Giuseppe Garibaldi as a path presenting all the events in the extraordinary life of one of Italian Risorgimento’s leading figures. Starting from an in-depth historical and technical exploration of the context, on a both environmental and architectural level, this creative renovation project proposes a new way of interpreting the signs and tales of history, inevitably intertwined with the signs and tales of our age.  Image Courtesy © PIETRO CARLO PELLEGRINI ARCHITETTO The result is a continuing dialogue between architecture and environment, formal design and state of the places. The Garibaldi Memorial was conceived to lead the visitor in a trip through the places and events of the general’s life: South America and his fights for freedom, Africa and China and his commercial trips, the United States where he was exiled and waited for release, Europe, his Italy and finally Caprera.  Image Courtesy © PIETRO CARLO PELLEGRINI ARCHITETTO Like pages in a book, the exhibition panels present details of important paintings, reports of his animated life, while important historical documents and collections – first and foremost all the Birardi collection, are protected by custom-designed showcases. The multi-media and interactive installations reconstruct places, events and relocations of men and resources, tales of an extraordinary political and private life. The restoration design respects the memory of this place and uses a delicate and light touch to enhance and revive the existing buildings: four small barracks become the wings of the exhibition area, flanked by smaller buildings for the reception, bookshop and public service facilities.  Image Courtesy © PIETRO CARLO PELLEGRINI ARCHITETTO  Image Courtesy © PIETRO CARLO PELLEGRINI ARCHITETTO The buildings are preserved in their original typological and constructive characters, with contemporary details carefully added to make the entire complex more elegant and new in its image. The exterior wall facings were renovated and the four exhibition wings and service areas plastered and painted white, the same colour that identifies Garibaldi’s “white house” and makes the entire complex recognizable; the new metal doors and windows show the face of the general screen-printed on glass and help visitors follow the exhibition’s main theme. The landscaping of the surrounding area and buildings completes the rehabilitation of the fort and creates ascenic path within the fortification complex in order to enhance the site’s unique environmental beauty. The new rest areas and a new protected and respectful walkway are also part of such approach. The ammunitions depots, particularly damaged both inside and outside, were typologically preserved as they were renovating the surfaces with materials that mirror the existing ones.  Image Courtesy © PIETRO CARLO PELLEGRINI ARCHITETTO The landscaping of the outside areas implied the restoration of the original granite flooring, now enhanced and expanded. The outer forecourts were paved with an ecofriendly and stabilizing material that respects the physical properties and colours of the existing sections. The fort’s exterior facings were consolidated and fitted with metal railings and bollards in order to create a network of scenic paths looking out to the sea, and farther away to the seven historical flags dedicated to Garibaldi. At the Fort’s entrance, the cor-ten steel letters spelling out the words “Giuseppe Garibaldi l’eroe dei due mondi” [Giuseppe Garibaldi hero of two worlds] become the entrance gate’s support. Further on a monument made of cor-ten steel blades with the sign “Memoriale Giuseppe Garibaldi” welcomes visitors and points at the face of the Hero of Two Worlds, painted on the side elevation of the service building.  Image Courtesy © PIETRO CARLO PELLEGRINI ARCHITETTO Before the four exhibition buildings, Piazza Italia is a sculptural public area where the peninsula’s stylized shape in a red stone mosaic forms the flooring and faces the raised seating. In the mosaic, the sea is formed by fragments of glass drowned in yellow Sienna stone seminato flooring while the island of Caprera is formed by a red Murano glass panel. While the square is a symbolic homage to Italy, Garibaldi and the 150 years since the Unification, it is also a work that celebrates the future: “a sign in order not to forget”.
Tags: Caprera (Olbia-Tempio), Italy Category: Memorial |
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