culture
twelve o’clock, May 15, 2021 – 10:56 am
The site is open to visitors for the FAI days on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 May. The tour lasts thirty minutes for a maximum of 15 participants at a time
of Francesco Petruzzelli
A journey through time. Between what the property represents for the city and what will be shortly. Not only a large park in the heart of the urban fabric, but also spaces that gradually regain their soul. Opening the doors to visitors after more than thirty years of closed gates. The city of Bari reclaims its Rossani Barracks, the architectural jewel a stone’s throw from the central station, for 48 hours. On Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 May, on the occasion of the Fai di Primavera days, it will be possible to visit the spaces that hosted generations of soldiers and which are now preparing to become places of culture and aggregation.
The complex
An enormous complex of 80 thousand square meters – divided into three blocks, command building, barracks and military depots – of which 3,500 square meters will house the most important library center in Southern Italy, with forty rooms and thousands of volumes. And in these two days there will already be a small taste thanks to various installations and works. It goes from the exhibition of the military uniforms of the two world wars of the collector Piero Violante to the personal exhibition of Corrado Veneziano with the works dedicated to Dante Alighieri to celebrate the 700th anniversary of his death. There is also space for Non una di Meno, the site-specific laser installation by the artist Ada Costa, curated by the Misia Arte gallery and a tribute to the recently deceased sociologist Franco Cassano, with a work in aluminum and morse code by the artist Jasmine Pignatelli and a digital video by the artist Francesco Castellani. And then the construction materials used by the artist Daniela Corbascio with her installation of pipes and fabrics. The exhibition is closed by the preparations of the Compagnia Formediterre by Antonio Minelli.
The visit
The tour – lasting thirty minutes and with a maximum of fifteen participants with shifts scheduled from 10 to 20 – will start from the park designed by the archistar Massimiliano Fuksas, with its splendid acacias, its holm oaks, almond trees and oranges and the skateboard track. In short, a dip between art, culture and greenery in what at the moment still remains a construction site, but skilfully transformed by the fifty workers of L’Internazionale, the cooperative that, in the midst of the works that will end at the beginning of September, welcomed with enthusiasm the idea of giving the city a sort of art gallery in complete safety. And we did it – says director Leonardo Santoro – with all the passion we put into every job we do. We have studied the path down to the smallest detail to make it safe. We took it upon ourselves to eliminate all architectural barriers to ensure the use of all the places of the guided tour. A demanding job but sure that giving the opportunity to enter this site that has been closed for thirty years would have given the city a great thrill. Appreciation also from the president of Lagacoop Puglia, Carmelo Rollo: Behind this event there are people who with enthusiasm, passion and love made it possible. It seemed right to thank the workers who worked on all this.
May 15, 2021 | 10:56
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