“The resumption of restoration work on the building of the former provincial library is excellent news, not only for Potenza but for the entire region. The agreement signed between the new director of the institute and the ATI should finally put an end to the embarrassing state of abandonment in which the building in Corso Garibaldi finds itself, the historic seat of the State Archives of Potenza, one of the cultural institutes most relevant in the city. However, it seems that we need to wait a little longer to be able to claim victory, given that very little is left of the fund made available compared to the original financing and with the recalculation of costs there is little to be confident about.” This is what Arnaldo Lomuti – deputy and Regional Coordinator of M5S Basilicata – writes in a note in which he adds that: “In fact, today’s economic conditions could lead to a new halt in work due to exhaustion of finances. Unfortunately, as we would say in such cases, “a film already seen”, especially in our area. Therefore, it will really be necessary to be careful and monitor the state of the art of the works as soon as they are resumed to avoid the outcome described above. The state archives have been waiting for over a decade to be relocated to the building of the former provincial library. An unacceptable period of time which pushed me, in July 2023, to present a specific parliamentary question to Minister Sangiuliano, who was already dealing with his numerous slip-ups to which he has accustomed us during his mandate. (until its well-known epilogue, determined more by soap opera dynamics à la “Beautiful” which should be unrelated to the management of an important ministry such as that of culture). The question received no response. However, the fact remains that the closure of the disputes with the ATI and the simultaneous resumption of work is news that inspires considerable hope and I would like to congratulate all the protagonists, starting from the current general director and his staff who have brought forward a difficult cause, started by the previous ones, starting from the general director Maria Carmela Benedetto, who spent herself beyond measure for the cause and who I met on the occasion of the inspection I personally carried out at the state archives in its still current location (hopefully for a little while longer) in via Nazario Sauro. In that visit I was able to see the immense value of the historical heritage kept in the archive and the need to return it to its historical location as soon as possible. Definitely more appropriate. That of Nazario sauro, in fact, was supposed to be a temporary solution but which has now lasted for over 11 years. The building of the former provincial library of Potenza suffered extensive damage from the violent earthquakes of 23 November 1980 and 5 May 1990. The structure, in fact, was then abandoned and in 1995 its precious material was transferred to its current location. Subsequently, in 2010 the consolidation and redevelopment works of the Corso Garibaldi structure were delivered. The commitment was to finish the work by 2013. In 2014, the Ministry of Culture acquired the property, while in the meantime an intricate series of disputes arose and, thus, the works immediately suffered the interruption that led to them then to run aground completely. Having said that, my question was actually answered by the then undersecretary Sgarbi (who was also dealing with embarrassing and notorious conduct which led him to end his mandate prematurely). Sgarbi, in fact, during one of his visits to Potenza, announced heaven and earth for the state archives. Words that were not followed by deeds. Today’s result, certainly positive, however, gives us clear data: in the state archives, Lucanian politics, the one that today claims credit for the unblocking of the works, has instead failed miserably for over a decade, highlighting all the its lack of vision and foresight towards a sector where, instead, it should look more: that historical-cultural heritage that makes us a unique country in the world. Failure that will occur again if there is not the right attention to the works, from their beginning to their end.”
Registered in the register of journalists of Basilicata.
