Piacenza hides many corners unknown to most, also thanks to its past as a strategic city for the Italian army which had barracks and structures here that had been empty for years. Among these there is also the Cella – Alfieri barracks, in via Benedettine, a structure that remained partially active until the 1980s. Here, in a small villa, the commander, a colonel, also lived with his family and in the large building that overlooks the the first stretch of via Abbondanza was the military bakery.
The structure is now owned by CDP Real Asset SGR (Cassa Depositi e Prestiti) and is currently closed pending future use. In recent days, representatives of local bodies and associations had the opportunity to visit it as part of the “Let’s turn on the PUG” inspections, the participatory process that will lead to the drafting of the new general urban plan of Piacenza.
The architect guided the visit, telling the history of this area Valeria Poli. At the center of the former military sector originally ran the Sant’Agostino stream which then merged into the San Savino stream. Almost certainly its waters were used to operate the spinning mill that was created here.
Reading and understanding the past can also better serve the future of the city as he explained to us Professor Valeria Poli «When trying to create a network of projects, it is also essential to have historical awareness. Here we are in a neighborhood that today could be widely valorised, redefined but which has had a complex history on the northern edge of the city on the border with the boatmen’s district, near the Po port. The great moment was that of Ranuccio II who wanted create a new Farnese axis connecting Palazzo Madama, Palazzo Farnese and the Benedictine church. A work he couldn’t finish; this is also an incomplete project in Piacenza. The Ducale spinning mill was founded in this neighborhood and in particular in this block, which will give an industrial and later military vocation to this area. However, we do not know what the tower opposite originally housed. It appears in a beautiful plan, that of Bolzoni from 1571. It was then incorporated into the large Benedictine monastery and became a passage tower between the monastic cloister and the courtyard behind it intended as a vegetable garden”.
«I thank the CDP Group – underlined the Urban Planning councilor Adriana Fantini – for allowing us to discover the beauty and charm of a space that many do not know and which tells us the story of the sixteenth-century Farnesian city, of which Via Benedettine was one of the cornerstones. The objective of the initiative that we have undertaken together with the CDP Group and, in recent weeks, with the State Property Agency and the Provincial Administration, is precisely to share, with the community, knowledge of places that have long been closed to the public. If possible future uses are linked to specific planning tools, in synergy with the relevant institutions, it is essential to relate the potential and characteristics of these spaces to the needs of the community and associations”.
There are currently no specific projects for the area, explained councilor Fantini, but it will be necessary to match the needs of the property with those of the citizens and associations to find the necessary funding for the recovery of these buildings «synergistic work will be done at city level also through the City Plan which was signed last April 24th, with the proposals the citizens’ ideas are different, very interesting and imaginative. There will truly be an opportunity to ground them and create suitable spaces that can welcome the beautiful associations that have always kept the cultural fabric of our city alive. This, specifically, is a space that lends itself to different uses and certainly also to being a headquarters for associations. We are trying to understand how to put our city at stake on the real estate market too. It is clear that without a public-private partnership as an administration with the public budget alone we cannot start operations of this type. We need to be creative, we need to listen to citizens on what the city’s new needs and requirements may be and then put together this wealth of knowledge with market operators who must find our city attractive and decide to invest here.”
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