The debate on the two Hamon towers in Ravenna, located in the former Sarom, reopens. As was inevitable after the announcement, on the afternoon of March 27, by the mayor Michele De Pascale about their upcoming demolition. In fact, Eni presented the sworn notice of commencement of works (Cila) to the Municipality of Ravenna. The reasons for the demolition of the 55 meter high cooling towers are the lack of safety and the creation of a photovoltaic system by the Port Authority on the site where they stand. Francesca Santarellapresident of the local section of Italia Nostra, which for years has been sensitive to the issues of industrial architecture, doesn’t agree.
The Hamon Towers are part of the skyline
«We will ask for the documents produced – says Santarella – and above all that the towers are protected, because they are part of the Ravenna skyline, of the industrial past and are objectively artefacts. For years they have been a favorite object for photographers, scholars and enthusiasts. Then in fact they never polluted, because boiling water was recovered here.”
Suffice it to say that the towers are the protagonists of “Red Desert” by Michelangelo Antonioni, a masterpiece that brought the industry of Ravenna to the screen. But, more recently, they appear in the video clip of the song “L’Alba” by Jovanotti.
«It had already been said in the past that they would be protected – he continues -, or in any case it was asked. Today it is not clear why a project, which is in fact a residential or industrial project in the area, cannot include it. It’s just the installation of a photovoltaic field, I don’t understand why at least one of the two can’t be preserved.”
A few years ago the Italia Nostra garrison entered the towers to save them
A few hours after the announcement, on social networks there are already those who remember them with nostalgia and those who make comparisons with Marghera, where the Hamon towers have been preserved and redeveloped. Already between 2014 and 2015when Ravenna was a candidate for ‘Capital of Culture’ for 2019, Italia Nostra had launched a garrison for the towers and for the ‘Sigarone’, of which a possible demolition had been feared.
«There was talk of redevelopment of the Darsena area of the city – explains Santarella – and so we called a demonstration in the area of the Hamon towers, since there was talk of demolishing them. Lots of people came and we entered the towers. From the inside they are breathtaking and the initiative was a success. Unfortunately today the logic is to tear down and redo, following the market and without caring about everything that is pre-existing and is part of our landscape”.
Similar to the issue of the Hamon towers is that of the bathing huts, which were intended to be killed by April 30th, but on which the Municipality has to date partially backtracked, postponing it until after the summer. Unfortunately, many shed owners had already taken steps to dismantle their product. The huts, like the towers, are a symbol of the city, of its past, they are part of the landscape and should be protected. “Hopefully Ravenna does not give in to those who are here solely to do their business, without caring about our most recent historical and cultural heritage”, he concludes Santarella.
