Cosenza, a fire destroys three lives and an exceptionally valuable historical and artistic heritage

A ruinous fire, which broke out in the historic center of Cosenza, just a few steps from the Cathedral, took away three lives, those of three people who had occupied an apartment on the third floor of a building on Corso Telesio, and a historical heritage of exceptional value: in fact, the fire spread to the nearby Palazzo Compagna, an ancient 16th-century noble residence belonging to the Compagna family, recently opened to the public. Inside was preserved a very valuable book heritage, that of the Bilotti Ruggi d’ Aragona family, who kept it in the Ruggi d’Aragona Residence, a place of culture that preserved its historical nature with paintings, sculptures, period furniture and the books just mentioned, and that regularly hosts exhibitions and concerts.

The first printing of De rerum natura iuxta propria principia, a work by Cosenza philosopher Bernardino Telesio, was destroyed in the fire, but also affected were 15th-century parchments and books from various eras. Distraught is the owner, Roberto Bilotti, who had already reported the lighting of dangerous fires in the apartment from which the fire originated. Reached by local newspaper La C News 24, he said, “This building was one of the few houses left intact, with all its furnishings. We had recently decided to open it to the public so that it could be enjoyed. It housed a library with thousands of volumes, scrolls, manuscripts, all related to the history of Cosenza. Half a millennium of the city’s history went up in smoke. Unfortunately, this disaster was predictable. In fact, the apartment downstairs had been occupied for many, many years, at least seven, by a family of squatters who had already lit fires inside the apartment in the past. There are numerous reports from the carabinieri. A danger repeatedly reported even to the Public Prosecutor’s Office.”

So there is regret for a very serious loss that, with a little more attention from the institutions, could have easily been avoided.

Image: one of the rooms of the Ruggi d’Aragona Residence. Image taken from the website.

Cosenza, a fire destroys three lives and an exceptionally valuable historical and artistic heritage

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