FANO Marco Vitruvio Pollione bursts into the final days of the Fano electoral campaign to invite the three mayoral candidates to sign the Vitruvian oath: Cristian Fanesi of the centre-left, Stefano Marchegiani of the progressives and Luca Serfilippi of the centre-right.
The courage required
«If you have the courage to do it – writes the great architect of the Augustan era – it will entail a very high and rigorous ethical and political commitment, it will force you to say no, to act with wisdom and authority, in the sole interest and for the well-being of the community and the territory that, temporarily, remember, you are called to administer”.
Current thinking
No time capsule and not even a message found in an ancient amphora, instead of a more modern bottle: the writing is from the Vitruvian Studies Center and the task of delivering it was taken on by Odino Zacchilli, the president of the prestigious Fano cultural institution . Seen from the perspective of those who study a thought capable of spanning the centuries, of inspiring among others a genius like Leonardo da Vinci and of founding Western architecture, the present in Fano does not seem to be exciting.
Regret
«I cannot help but express my regret to you – continues the open letter – for the fact that my teachings are also neglected or ignored right here, at Fanum Fortunae. Do you think I would ever design or plan roads and monasteries that offend the most beautiful landscape you have?
And there is also a rather pointed reference to the choice to locate industrial activities “next to a school” as in the area of the former sugar factory. «I have always considered Fanum Fortunae my city – continues the open letter – and here I also completed my great treatise on architecture. Dear Mayor, you too should read my De Architectura, because my work is truly a letter to Power. This is why I dedicated it to Augusto. So, with my books, I wanted to show him how to choose the right places to build a city and its walls, how to orient it with respect to the sun and winds so that the buildings were healthy, comfortable and the citizens lived healthily.
The rules of harmony
«I taught him – the text continues – to plan it, to think first about buildings and public places and then about private homes and activities. I told him that, to do this, he had to surround himself with honest people, expert architects, rich in knowledge and skills in many disciplines, because the aim of architecture is man, his happiness. I reminded him that beauty lies in the right proportion between the parts, in the harmony of the elements. And I advised him to respect the landscape, to always seek balance between man and nature, between the city and the environment, reminding him that knowledge is more important than wealth. It is culture that builds humanity.”
The principles of the architect
The conclusion is therefore the invitation to sign the Vitruvian Oath, written by the Study Centre, to which one should “pay a little more attention”. A commitment that the winning candidate will be able to fulfill by solemnly and publicly declaring that he wants to administer the city according to Vitruvian principles.
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