Florence, dismantling of Ferris wheel starts. From the Superintendence no to the extension

Many had hoped for an extension, but as of yesterday dismantling operations began on Florence Eye, the large Ferris wheel installed in Florence near the Fortezza da Basso from Dec. 4 to Jan. 16 as part of Florence Ice Village, the project that transformed the Fortezza garden into a large Christmas theme park for the Christmas holidays. At 55 meters high and with 42 booths, it was one of the tallest in Italy (to give an idea, the famous Riesenrad in Vienna’s Prater is 65 meters high). The no to the extension (Mayor Dario Nardella had asked for another 45 days) came from the Soprintendenza.

Reactions at Palazzo Vecchio were divided. The mayor is sorry: “Unfortunately,” he wrote on social media, “from tomorrow the dismantling operations of the Ferris wheel at the Fortezza da Basso will begin. Superintendent Pessina has said ’no’ to the request of so many citizens and visitors for an extension of a few weeks, of which I was a convinced bearer. I am very regretful because they liked the project so much. We will go ahead, however, for an increasingly enlightened and contemporary Florence.”

“Strong regret also from all of us in the Nardella list for the choice of the Superintendency,” said Mimma Dardano, group leader of the list in the city council. “The Ferris wheel at the Fortress represented a beautiful project that during the holidays enhanced an area that is too often a place of degradation and that instead during these days had become a living and experienced space as never before. A beautiful initiative that was a great success, even exceeding expectations, and to which it was too early for this year to put an end. It is therefore regrettable that it was decided not to meet the requests not only of the administration but of so many Florentines who had appreciated it and could have continued to do so for some time to come.” Of the same opinion the Pd: “It would have been an opportunity for many Florentines to continue to take advantage of a beautiful, innovative project that united young and old and represented a sign of hope and confidence in a still complicated moment, and for many others who have experienced the last month in isolation to get on it for the first time,” stress Nicola Armentano and Letizia Perini, Pd group leader and deputy group leader in the City Council. “Instead, it is a missed opportunity, because we cannot define the Superintendency’s decision not to grant the extension in any other way. The Ferris wheel at the Fortress made us look at the city from a different perspective. We certainly look forward to seeing it again next year. Now, however, like Mayor Nardella and like so many of our fellow citizens, we can only be bitter about this ’no’ that is not good for anyone and certainly not good for Florence. An extension in the face of great participation seemed to us a reasonable and balanced decision. We note that this was not the case but we cannot but express disappointment.”

Instead, the radical left exults. “Did the city like the wheel? We recognize that, at least a non-marginal part of those who live on our territory liked the idea (it would be nice to understand how much it consumed in environmental terms, along with the ice rink),” say Dmitry Palagi and Antonella Bundu of Left Common Project. “This does not detract from the fact that the public notice specified that the period was ’the Christmas holidays (December 1, 2020 - January 15, 2021), with possible replication in the same period of the following two years.’ The mayor has chosen the populist key. The people are with him, bringing light to Florence, but the Superintendent said no. We are governed by Nardalf the White, who evidently still blames the controversy of sponsors over monuments and forgets his institutional role. There was a project, clearly limited in time. It was moved from the square to the Cascine and then to the Fortress. It was temporary and Christmas. Christmas has passed.”

Finally, the Centro group would like to see the wheel even become permanent. From the councillors of the Centro group (Emanuele Cocollini, Ubaldo Bocci and Antonio Montelatici) come fiery words against the Superintendency: “Superintendent Pessina has shown, once again, that the superintendencies are a body to be abolished, outdated and now useless. The decision not to extend the concession for the Ferris wheel makes no sense and no reason concerning the preservation of cultural heritage. This morning’s, is just the latest in a series of unacceptable decisions, and without an explanation, that condemns the city to immobility and degrowth, far from happy. Preservation means enhancing and projecting into the future the wonder that has been left to us, not standing still and anchored in a past that cannot be enjoyed by citizens. As far as we are concerned, finally, the Ferris wheel should remain permanently installed on Florentine soil.”

Florence, dismantling of Ferris wheel starts. From the Superintendence no to the extension

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