TARANTO – Italian biennial of architecture and contemporary art of the Mediterranean, the memorandum of understanding has been signed with the Ministry of Culture and the Puglia Region. For the record, yesterday in Rome, among others, were present the mayor of Taranto, Rinaldo Melucci and the minister of culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano.
The Biennale’s study center which will take place in Palazzo degli Uffici (or Palazzo Archita as the Municipality has renamed it), with a plan which will also include the new and future municipal art gallery and some sections of the National Archaeological Museum, will allow the Municipality to also access further funding under the Just Transition Fund.
Last April 10th, in this regard, the Journal had anticipated the possibility that the memorandum of understanding for the Biennale could unlock further funding necessary to complete the redevelopment of Palazzo Archita. And from the first rumors filtering out from the capital, in fact, this possibility seems to be quite concrete. Moreover, the Municipality still has to find those huge sums that are missing to integrate the spending forecasts made in 2018, in a historical period in which there had not been the record increase in the prices of materials caused in the order by : Covid, lack of raw materials, rising energy bills and war in Ukraine.
For the record, the first batch of the project was, in turn, divided into two parts. The first (excerpt A) includes: restoration of the external facades of the Palace; external artistic lighting and arrangements of the squares facing the property (piazzas della Vittoria and Archita). Excerpt B, however, concerns: the restoration of the tunnel; the recovery of the two internal courts; the restoration of the path connecting the ground floor to the outside and, finally, the artistic lighting of the internal spaces.
In particular, lot A has a total amount of 10.3 million euros; the second of 15.4 million. Furthermore, the second part of the first lot then joins with the second lot which, instead, concerns the redevelopment and definition of the internal spaces. So far, the design phases. But what are the financial resources to carry out this work? And above all, is all the money really available? Therefore, in summary, the 10.3 million euros of excerpt A of the first lot come for 4.5 million from the Development and Cohesion Fund (FSC) and refer to a CIPE resolution of 2018 while for the remaining 5.8 million the Municipality which will use a loan taken out with Cassa Depositi e Prestiti in a different way, for a total of 10.3 million, while the 15.4 million for the second part of the first lot and for the interventions planned in the second still derive from the Development and Cohesion Fund. All this, however, is not enough. At least another 25 million are needed. Which, at this point, could come from the Ministry of Culture.
