A great area for events And concerts with over a thousand seats, a park for hot air balloons, a naturalistic oasis. The imposing and evocative scenery of quarries Galia Of Aquarica, once a working environment for generations of tuff extractors, it is preparing to become a place of attraction and promotion of the landscape and sustainable tourism.
The presentation on Sunday
The presentation of the project is scheduled for Sunday 23 June at 8pm at the medieval castle of Acquarica, in Piazza San Carlo. Professor Stefano Mancuso, a world-renowned scientist, botanist, professor of Arboriculture at the University of Florence, and one of the world’s leading authorities in the field of botany, will participate in the event, called “Tajate”, with a lectio magistralis. The speech will be preceded by institutional greetings from the president of the Province Stefano Minerva, the regional councilor Alessandro Delli Noci, the presidents of the professional associations, the mayor of Presicce-Acquarica Paolo Rizzo and the majority group leader Alberto Cazzato. The journalist Pierandrea Fanigliulo will host. The project will be illustrated by the team of designers who drafted it, led by the architect Bruno Ricchiuto and composed of the architects Denise Franzè, Annalisa Cataldi and Antonio Melileo, the engineer Rocco Guidano, the agronomist Francesco Tarantino and the geologists Luigi Chiffi and Salvatore Valletta. The short films “Tajate: monument to the tuff extractors of Acquarica del Capo” by Mario Ricchiuto and “The man who planted trees” will be screened.
Three thematic areas
Three thematic areas are planned to occupy the approximately 51 hectares affected by the project proposal (out of a total of 300 hectares of extension of the quarries, between the municipalities of Presicce-Acquarica and Taurisano). The first is the naturalistic park: 25 hectares of paths and areas equipped for rest and recreational activities, in the south-east quadrant of the quarries. The presence of significant changes in altitude led to the idea of lightweight raised Corten walkways to connect some areas of the park that would otherwise be inaccessible. This is the area in which the planting of new essences will be mostly concentrated: an area dedicated to the conservation of nature, biodiversity and ecological activities. Native plants such as carob, maritime pine, ash and holm oak will be given priority. Then there is the Tajate Park, a place dedicated to the preservation of memory.
The Hot Air Balloon Park
The idea is to create a garden of aromatic plants through a series of paths that allow you to go down to the lowest altitude to cross the tajate and see the walls worked by the tuff extractors up close. A scenario created by man and shaped by nature which is also a place of memory linked to work and sacrifice. The route will be set up with educational panels that will tell the story of the tuff extractors and stone processing. A real immersion in the past but also an open-air laboratory where artists can try their hand at working with tuff. Finally, the highlight of the project: the hot air balloon park and the events area. To the north-east, the large clear area will lend itself to the flight of hot air balloons: it is one of the most evocative areas of the quarries, because in the most central part the tuff pillars rise imposingly, forming the backdrop to an area where the construction of of events, fairs, concerts and entertainment and cultural activities, with a capacity of over a thousand seats. «The transformation of an abandoned quarry into a cultural and recreational space – states the designer Bruno Ricchiuto – symbolizes the communities’ capacity for rebirth and adaptation. This creative reuse represents resilience and the ability to breathe new life into abandoned places, transforming them into spaces for meeting, artistic expression and community activities. It is a sign of hope and renewal that shows how the past can be integrated into the present in positive and innovative ways.” The municipal administration is satisfied with the project and will now take action to find the resources necessary to complete the work, perhaps also with the involvement of neighboring communities. «We continue with tenacity – these are the words of the mayor of Presicce-Acquarica, Paolo Rizzo – to implement our program, which involved the redevelopment of the abandoned quarries. It was necessary to start from the concrete feasibility of a project which we entrusted to a team of professionals who gave us a great job in concert with our technical offices and with the support of the administration. We are already working to intercept the resources necessary to return this great treasure to the use of the community.” Alberto Cazzato, councilor with responsibility for development and growth of the territory, adds: «The stature of a community is also measured by the ability to dream big: the Le Tajate park is one of those ambitious projects capable of changing the destinies of an entire a territory which unfortunately still pays a high price for its peripherality in a South which, also in light of the new reform, seems to be increasingly forced towards marginalisation. The ability to design and create is the only weapon we have to try to reverse the trend and change things.”
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