CATANIA – A large green square, with spaces for relaxation, play areas for children and for fitness, energetically autonomous. The project that will enhance the area of the former Santa Marta-Villermosa hospital in Catania was presented this morning by the president of the Sicilian Region Nello Musumeci, by the regional health councilor, Ruggero Razza, by the mayor of Catania Salvo Pogliese, by the City Councilor for Urban Planning, Enrico Trantino. The intervention, financed with two million and 330 thousand euros by the Sicilian Region, aims at the enhancement and redevelopment of the quadrilateral of almost 4 thousand square meters that rises between via Gesualdo Clementi and via Bambino. In place of the disused building, dating back to the 50s-60s, a square will be built and the elevation of the eighteenth-century palace with garden and internal garden will be visible again. The works are coordinated by the civil engineering department of Catania, led by the engineer Natale Zuccarello. The project, drawn up by the architect Giuseppe Scannella, aims to restore decorum and usability to this part of the Antico Corso district, starting a redevelopment work in the district of the historic center of Etna where various hospital complexes have been abandoned.
«In the nine capitals of the island we are working on a plan to reuse the disused healthcare building – declares the President of the Region, Musumeci – to avoid empty containers and finalize these properties for cultural or socio-cultural activities. In Catania, involving the professional orders and the Superintendence for cultural heritage, with the mayor Pogliese we agreed to eliminate a disgrace that cannot be reconverted, part of the disused Santa Marta hospital, on the summit of Montevergine. The demolition will make it possible to deliver to the Antico Corso district a square that until now has been closed to use as well as to the view of the passerby. The eighteenth-century building, on the other hand, when restored, will be able to house public offices ».
«A path of urban regeneration of exceptional value is underway, which will determine a domino effect of redevelopment involving also private construction as happened in many other European cities – adds the mayor of Catania Salvo Pogliese -. This is part of the mobility project, with the subway that will affect this district with three new stops by 2024 ». «It is the discovery of a hitherto hidden place that will be returned to the city – underlines the architect Scannella – We can define it as a square because it is a meeting place, a place of sociality. We have implemented the green areas, eliminated the stairs so that the area is accessible to all ».
THE PROJECT SHEET
The historic garden, originally hidden by the walls, will be returned to free use, like a square, because it will become a public space, a gathering place, an agora. Respecting the historical memory of the place, the rediscovered space will have a wide functional and visual permeability. The high pillars on via Clementi, covered in white and lava stone, reinterpret the decorative features of the Baroque, but also become functional to support the photovoltaic glass roof. Beyond this “curtain” the garden opens and in the background appears the façade of the eighteenth-century building attributed to the vaccarinian school. On via Bambino, where the existing buildings are considerably lower, a shaped wall delimits the edges of the area, hosting a fitness area. The space under the photovoltaic roof is enriched by a system of pools with water features alternating with two rows of trees with olive or carob trees, between which full benches are provided. There are no more stairs, except the historic one of the eighteenth-century building, but horizontal and inclined planes with a slight slope.
There are areas for socializing, tables where you can write, read, play cards, an area with games for children surrounded by greenery, drinking fountains accessible to people with motor disabilities, ribs for separate waste collection, dog stations and parking spaces for bicycles, but also state-of-the-art self-cleaning toilets. The transparent photovoltaic shelter will produce about 150KWh of energy, for the needs of the square and the future destinations envisaged for the historic building; the part of excess energy can be stored. Thanks to the light metal structure that composes it, the shelter can be used as a theatrical trellis, to suspend, if necessary, banners, large screens, sound systems. Rainwater will be channeled into a large underground tank, to be reused for irrigation and services.
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