Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ministry blocks new pavilion: "Not compatible with protection requirements"

In the end, after the clash between the faction opposed to the works at the Palazzo dei Diamanti and the supporters of the expansion project (which envisaged the construction of an external pavilion, placed in the garden, and which, as both the Municipality of Ferrara and the authors of the project have repeatedly specified, would in no way affect the historic building and would be totally reversible), came the Ministry’s block on the project. In a five-page letter sent to the Superintendence of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the metropolitan city of Bologna and the provinces of Modena, Reggio Emilia and Ferrara, the director general of archaeology, fine arts and landscape, Gino Famiglietti, appealed to Article 9 of the Constitution, the Cultural Heritage Code and the decree on the rules for work in public administrations (as well as the declaration of important historical and artistic interest concerning Palazzo dei Diamanti), and noted that “the project to build a pavilion in the space behind the monument would constitute an objective modification, in deteriorating terms, of the reciprocal visual relationship between the Palace and the pertaining green space as well as of the typological relationship between these two contexts, both of which are subject to protection,” and that “the construction of said pavilion cannot be considered an intervention with a reversible character, since the building, designed to be a permanent venue for contemporary art exhibitions, would have to be built with adequate foundations and reinforced concrete structure, and the very concept of ’reversible architecture’ appears to be a contradiction in terms due to the stable use to which the new volume is intended.”

As a result, the Ministry orders that the Superintendent, without prejudice to the need for in-depth study of the issue, “express a negative opinion, with a request for revision, for the part of the project submitted that is inherent to the construction of the new volumes,” which are deemed “not compatible with the protection requirements of the monumental complex, considered in itself and in its spatial and perceptual relationships, as historically sedimented.” The Superintendency of Bologna (which is also responsible for Ferrara), in a January 18 document signed by Superintendent Cristina Ambrosini, simply acknowledged the Ministry’s provisions: “it is hereby highlighted,” reads the reply to Director Famiglietti, “the incompatibility of the project proposal,” and consequently communicates that “the terms of the procedure are to be considered suspended” pending further investigation.

This is, of course, a suspension and not a definitive no, but it is likely that the project will be revised. Famiglietti suggests, as an alternative, that the anularity of the Palazzo dei Diamanti’s existing ancient pathway be restored “by means of the construction of an underground connection between the two wings, also in order [...] to remove the temporary structures (not compatible with the decorum of the complex itself) that currently allow people to pass from one side of the complex to the other without being completely exposed to the weather and not to alter the external balances of the harmonious relationship between the historical building and the open space of pertinence.” As an alternative to a hypothetical underground route, in order to expand the spaces reserved for major exhibitions Famiglietti suggests restoring and reusing municipally owned buildings located in the Quadrivio and thus usable as a branch office of the Palazzo dei Diamanti (for example, Palazzo Prosperi Sacrati or the Caserma Bevilacqua are mentioned).

TheOrder of Architects of Rome appeals to the Minister of Cultural Heritage, Alberto Bonisoli, to ensure that the outcome of the competition is respected (“it is not acceptable,” declare the architects, “that the winners of transparent procedures, after having committed time and resources in the elaboration of projects, are deprived of the possibility of exercising”), and comments, “the news coming from Ferrara regarding the stop to the enlargement of Palazzo dei Diamanti constitutes a dangerous precedent, as well as being anti-historical and anti-contemporary. For this reason, the Order of Architects of Rome, in defense of its members and the entire category, has decided to take a position with respect to the resolution of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities that effectively blocks the project, bypassing the Superintendence and bypassing the rules.” In any case, the whole affair will still be discussed for a long time.

Pictured: a rendering of the project.

Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ministry blocks new pavilion: "Not compatible with protection requirements"

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