The walled city of Palmanova (Udine) was the focus of an institutional visit by Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli, who arrived in the Friulian town this morning accompanied by Minister for Relations with Parliament Luca Ciriani, Mayor Giuseppe Tellini and Friuli Venezia Giulia Region Vice President and Culture Councilor Mario Anzil. The visit was a significant moment in the advancement of the national “Recovery Art” project , a program supported by the European Union and the Ministry of Culture that envisages the activation of five Italian poles dedicated to the conservation, protection and restoration of works of art damaged by calamitous events. One of the facilities chosen for this network is precisely the former Montezemolo Barracks in Palmanova, a complex of over fifty thousand square meters that is undergoing a crucial phase of redevelopment thanks to an investment of 30 million euros from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Minister Giuli, at the end of the inspection inside the construction site, stressed the strategic value of the project, calling it a virtuous example of the use of PNRR funds earmarked for cultural heritage. “This is the opening day of a work that is being initiated, but also being realized,” he said. “We are facing a virtuous example of the use of PNRR funds, which for the Ministry of Culture are strategic, because they are the basis for the recovery, conservation and protection of cultural heritage. Added to this is the great ability of the Palmanova area to design an integrated cultural offer, going beyond the mere first aid of the assets. It is another virtuous example of how Friuli Venezia Giulia, and Palmanova in particular, know how to transform a project born from a potential emergency into a strategic vision, of high social function, through a very precise, detailed and ambitious intervention. In addition to the fact that Palmanova is splendid, and that this stellar structure has absolute and international importance, it is very pleasing to see the extraordinary planning capacity that emerges, beyond the need for which the Ministry has committed its resources.”
The former Montezemolo Barracks, a vast area strategically located in an area characterized by a high concentration of cultural property requiring constant protection, is set to become a multifunctional facility. It will house a specialized storage facility to house works of art from all over Italy that have been damaged by natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and landslides; a laboratory intended for the restoration of artifacts; and a center dedicated to research and exhibition. The intervention responds to the growing need for equipped facilities capable of rapid and specialized intervention on works compromised by the extreme events that periodically strike the national territory. The choice of Palmanova as the site of one of the project’s five hubs is not accidental: the city is located in an area exposed to seismic and hydrogeological hazards, and at the same time it guards numerous historical sites that require a high level of attention and care.
The initiative represents the initial phase of a transformation that will involve the entire area of the former barracks, destined to change function and identity from its military past. Its extension, more than fifty thousand square meters, makes it possible to imagine an articulated center capable of hosting not only the functions of storage and restoration, but also spaces dedicated to the public presentation of restored works, the training of professionals in the field and the development of scientific activities aimed at heritage protection.
The Recovery Art project is part of the broader framework of initiatives aimed at equipping the country with permanent tools to deal with emergencies related to cultural heritage. In recent decades, earthquakes and extreme weather events have caused significant damage to churches, museums, historic buildings and works of art, generating the need for safe places to relocate and secure affected assets, as well as specialized laboratories to intervene promptly. The creation of poles dedicated to the management of these emergencies is a decisive step toward a cultural heritage protection system capable of responding to emergencies but also planning preventive activities and studies.
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| A large hub for restoration of disaster-affected property will be built in Palmanova |
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