Forlì, 13 April 2024 – The shelter takes leave of Saffi square. Yesterday, the last remains of the ‘iron giant’six rusty arches, were lying, one behind the other, along the quayside, making obeisance to Saint Mercurial. Around the large construction site that surrounds the ‘skeleton’ of the shed, the Friday market teems: a caravanserai of goods, voices, faces and colours. Astride bicycles, groups of elderly people attentively observe the latest works: “They made it their own very well”, says Renato with conviction. The statement immediately ignites the minds of those who disagree: “Now where will the people waiting for the bus sit?” Alberto insists. The shed, whose investment at the time was 600 million lire, was designed by the architect Marcello Balzani and was the subject of divergent opinions for 25 years. Despite the authorization of the Superintendence, Vittorio Sgarbi, admirer of the Abbey of San Mercuriale, he called it “a massacre” and “an abuse”.
Around to the fence, set up for the start of work last month, Rebecca and Loredana, a mother with her young daughter, comment on the ‘skeleton’ of the canopy: “Finally we will be able to admire the beauty of the abbey. The structure polluted the landscape”. However, doubts remain about the huge expenditure, around 250 thousand euros: “Perhaps that money – underlines Luciano, while observing the deep furrows where the stone and cast iron pillars once stood – could have been spent on more urgent situations, such as restoring some areas that are still disaster-stricken from the flood”. The view has changed: from via Giorgio Regnoli you can clearly see the town hall while from via delle Torri you can enjoy the beauty of San Mercuriale.
The shelter, which has always been experienced as a foreign element, alien to the context, had now become part of the geography of the square, as a ‘refuge’ on rainy days and relief on sunny ones. The proposal to include a stage for summer events splits the opinions of the people of Forlì, between those who reject the idea “Remove a ‘gelding’ and put another one” and those who, instead, see it as an opportunity to be seized: “More events in the square mean more work for the shops in the center.” The traders criticize the transport plan: “The problem is not the shelter – explains Cristiano, owner of a shoe shop in Piazza Saffi and a street vendor – but the lack of an adequate public transport service. If there were more trips than bringing the historic center here would probably also be more vital.”
