Nuova Torre, the chief pilot ‘we’ve been waiting for it for 10 years’

by Monica Zunino (ANSA) – GENOA, SEPTEMBER 27 – “It is a step that we have been waiting for for ten years, and I believe that it is the right location both for the Tower and for the headquarters of the pilots of the port of Genoa, the most important port in the Mediterranean There are electronic devices, which we have used in recent years to control the traffic of ships in the port, but there is nothing yet that can equal direct vision, a port without a pilot tower is like an airport without a control tower from which the controllers can see the runways.” The head of the Pilot Corps of the port of Genoa, Danilo Irace Fabricatore, looks satisfied at the new Pilot Tower during the inspection with the deputy prime minister and MIT minister Matteo Salvini. Delivery is expected in the first half of 2025 but construction has been completed with the testing of the pair of elevators leading to the control cabin. The new tower, which replaces the one knocked down in 2013 by the ship Jolly Nero, with nine victims, was built on an artificial island in the Eastern Waterfront area, in front of the Jean Nouvel pavilion. 65 meters high, with the control cabin on top, and an antenna that reaches up to 95 metres, the construction, together with the two new accompanying buildings, almost completed (85%), which will be connected to the tower by two piers (to be built), will host the pilot corps and the staff of the Port Authority of Genoa. It will be the new observation point to visually control the port. And in the two buildings the Pilot Corps will finally be able to reunite the staff who were currently divided into two different areas of the port: the pilot boats at Molo Giano, the offices at Ponte Colombo. “From the tower you can enjoy a top-level panoramic view, which is what most interests the coast guard, it encompasses the entire Sampierdarena canal, the ancient port and the entire entrance to the port. In addition to being very beautiful to see also from from a functional and optical visibility point of view it is truly beautiful” comments the administrator. Piero Pellizzari, maritime director of Liguria and commander of the Port of Genoa. Admiral Massimo Seno, commissioner of the ADSP of the western Ligurian Sea, speaks of an “iconic work”. “It is a very important element for the security of the port and an iconic work. Among other things, it was also created in a very short time within the extraordinary program and for which the ADSP contributed almost half of the total amount start at 23 million”. “It lets air and light pass through and at the top there is this cockpit protected by a large hat” describes it Emanuela Baglietto, partner of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop and responsible for the project. The other sentinel of the port, together with the Lantern, will host photovoltaic panels that will produce 60% of the annual energy necessary to power the needs of the structure. To these will be added the panels installed on the roof of the services building thanks to which the energy autonomy of the work will be achieved. Furthermore, the new pilot tower is equipped with a sophisticated stabilization system to counterbalance the forces of wind and extreme events, minimizing the effects of vibrations. (HANDLE).