Archistar Cucinella proposes to complete the facade of San Petronio with a forest

Singular proposal by archistar Mario Cucinella: the well-known Sicilian architect, who has his studio in Bologna, in fact revealed yesterday to the Resto del Carlino the idea of completing the facade of the unfinished basilica of San Petronio with a sort of vertical forest covering the entire unclad portion. Cucinella says he was inspired by drawings with which the completion of the facade of the temple, a symbol of Bologna and the fourth largest church in Italy, has been proposed over the centuries, and that a facade with a forest could be an ideal application of the principles of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’ on ecology.

Cucinella is also aware that this is a provocation, although when asked about the feasibility of the operation he stresses that it is a “feasible, contemporary project that does not affect the nature of the building.” The idea, however, does not seem to be so much to actually imagine a facade of San Petronio with a forest included, as to emphasize the importance of ecology issues: next year, in fact, there will be municipal elections in Bologna and, according to Cucinella, “the ’campaign agenda’ cannot fail to include, among the priorities, issues such as ecology in cities, regeneration and urban forestation. The project for San Petronio, an operation of our time, seemed to me a beautiful message, in the heart of a city that is trying to change.” And Bologna, in his view, could be “the first city to send a strong message to the world about sustainability and ecology,” doing so with a powerful symbol such as its basilica.

Archistar Cucinella proposes to complete the facade of San Petronio with a forest

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