ANCONA – It was supposed to last 270 days and cost one million, it was completed in 3 years and 4 months and the final amount, between variations during construction and errors to be corrected, has certainly increased. But we’re here now. Today, barring surprises (which have not been lacking in these parts), the barriers will be removed and the boulevard of via XXIX Settembre will finally be freed. But no celebratory ceremonies: the Municipality gave up the ribbon cutting (which was scheduled for the afternoon) to comply with the regulations on institutional communication established by Agcom during the electoral period.
The snags
The latest in a long series of setbacks was the blunder in Latin discovered by chance by a passer-by on one of the ground engravings dedicated to the emperor Trajan, who suddenly became a “cheese maker” (from Caesari to Caseari). And it wouldn’t be the only oversight corrected at the last minute. Yesterday the removal and replacement of the decorative stones was completed hastily, just in time for the deadline set for today. No one would have ever imagined that the construction site opened in December 2020 by the Mancinelli administration would turn into such an ordeal. It was supposed to close in September 2021, but then everything went into it. The company had justified the delays with Covid, the difficulty in finding materials, then with the general increase in prices. In February 2022 the Municipality, after various reminders, was forced to send a letter of formal notice to the company. A section of the promenade was opened in August 2022, with the new balustrade and panoramic windows. Then in the following October the benches and the new bus shelter were revealed, then in November the final project for the restyling in the stretch between Porta Pia and the Mandracchio entrance was approved. Yes, because the construction site continued following two sections and was intertwined with the Iti-Waterfront works for the renovation of the entire lighting. Among the series of problems, the need to repaint the balustrade several times, an error in the screed, higher than what was shown in the papers, then a variant approved in January to adapt the width of the sidewalks to 1.5 metres, given the renunciation of the runway cycle lane. The icing on the cake, the mistake in Latin, from blue pencil. But today is the big day, which tastes like freedom: the people of Ancona will have their seafront back.
