No more stalls in Piazza dei Miracoli: from Paolucci to Schmidt, Frugoni to Montanari, hundreds of signatures against

No more stalls in Pisa’s Piazza dei Miracoli: so begins the petition on Change.org that has already reached hundreds of signatures and aims to reach 1,000. The collection of signatures, addressed to the mayor of the Tuscan city, Michele Conti, comes after yet another imaginative proposal for the return of souvenir stores to the square: local shopkeepers have in fact put forward the idea (finding, moreover, a good degree of acceptance) of placing, along the wall of the Spedale Nuovo overlooking the square, Piaggio Bees refitted for the occasion as stalls for the sale of souvenirs. And since a string of motorcars would be completely incompatible with the beauty and architectural integrity of Piazza dei Miracoli, the petition was launched in Pisa, which boasts some prominent names among its first signatories: Valeria Caldelli, Pierluigi D’Amico, Silvia Silvestri, Fabio Beltram, Mariagiulia Burresi, Riccardo Ciuti, Chiara Frugoni, Alfondo Maurizio Iacono, Donata Levi, Marco Malvaldi, Tomaso Montanari, Luca Nannipieri, Antonio Paolucci, Carlo Pepi, Eike Schmidt, Salvatore Settis, Maurizia Tazartes, Lucia Tomasi Tongiorgio, Carlo Tozzi, Francesca Ughi and many others.

The petition begins with the observation that “for two years now it has been possible once again to admire the Piazza del Duomo in all its extraordinary beauty.” “after the restoration of the Leaning Tower, the cleaning of its marbles, the difficult recovery of the Camposanto Vecchio from the flames of the war, finally even the thirteenth-century facade of the ’Spedale Nuovo’ is back to being visible, giving us back the joy and excitement of rediscovering the ancient sacred and profane place that has marked the time of this city for centuries.” The Spedale Nuovo constitutes an integral part of the Piazza dei Miracoli, on a par with the Cathedral, the Baptistery, and the Tower, and for many years the stalls were leaning against its wall, partially obstructing the view: “only six years ago,” the petition continues, “was it possible to remove the hawker businesses. A long and expensive restoration gave us back this piece of the city’s history and the ’miracle’ of the square intact again.”

Now, the goal is to safeguard the integrity of this unique square, averting the return of the stalls: moreover, the petition recalls how in 2006 UNESCO pointed out that commercial activities constitute an interference with the square, as well as a cause of degradation as they impact “with the full visibility and integrity of the perspective of the context and decorum.” The return of the stalls, the text of the petition points out, could even lead to a revocation of the recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which Pisa and Italy have boasted since 1987.

“We therefore consider it necessary,” the petition concludes, “that the mistaken intentions be definitively abandoned and that the incompatibility of the presence of commercial activities with occupation of public land in Piazza dei Miracoli be sanctioned once and for all. Hoping that the city can still be proud to offer the entire world the intact heritage of its history, we invite everyone, Pisans and non-Pisans alike, to make their voices heard by adhering to this appeal, or in the forms they deem most appropriate.”

To read the full text and sign the petition, simply log on to Change.org. You can also sign by sending an email to maipiubancarelle@gmail.com or by contacting promoters Valeria Caldelli, Pierluigi D’Amico and Silvia Silvestri on Facebook, or by filling out the paper forms already circulated.

No more stalls in Piazza dei Miracoli: from Paolucci to Schmidt, Frugoni to Montanari, hundreds of signatures against

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