Viareggio, Turcato's monument dismantled in waste company shed

The situation has not changed for the Oceanics, the beautiful monument that one of Italy’s great 20th-century masters, Giulio Turcato (Mantua, 1912 - Rome, 1995), had donated in 1990 to the city of Viareggio, a place he loved. The case had erupted last December, when the sculpture was removed from its usual location, Piazza Puccini (at the beginning of the city’s waterfront) to be stowed in a municipal warehouse, resting on the ground directly on the grass, behind some dumpsters. The state of the work had been denounced by city councilor Alessandro Santini (Lega Nord) and journalist Rossella Martina (who is currently a candidate for the Tyrrhenian city council on the civic list “Più Democrazia per Viareggio”).

The mayor, Giorgio Del Ghingaro, a center-left independent, had responded by letting them know that the “sails” (as the monument is known in the city) had been removed as they were awaiting restoration. “The pedestals,” he had said, “needed maintenance, they were corroded and the wind could make the artwork dangerous.” The first citizen had then added, “They will be fixed, with all the necessary adjustments, and the whole thing will be given new life in a more visible place, so that its colorful beauty will stand out even more.” On the fact that the work had been removed without informing the townspeople, the mayor had responded condescendingly, “I did not think it was a relevant thing, moving statues to restore them.”

The problem is that, nine months later, there is not even a shadow of the restoration. Scarlett Martina, in September, went back to investigate and released some images of the Oceanics, which are still stacked, no longer outdoors but in a shed belonging to SEA, the waste disposal company in Viareggio. That the work is in the shed had been confirmed by the newspaper Il Tirreno, adding an editorial note to a statement by Del Ghingaro: “Shortly before Christmas 2019,” the mayor had written on his Facebook page, “we removed them because they were no longer safe. In the assessments of those who observed them, there were safety issues. We removed them, admitted them to a suitable place (a shed of the waste company, Sea Ambiente, ed.) and had them viewed by some experts. Who said two things: the basement was degraded and needed to be secured, as did the pins holding the works. And the works needed real restoration. We contacted The Central Institute for Restoration, the highest authority on the subject, and the director came a couple of times and viewed the work and said he was willing to restore it.” Once the restoration is finished, the first citizen let it be known, “we will reposition them in Viareggio, in an equally suitable place, able to enhance their beauty and mobility, because they were works that had to move with the wind” (the monument, however, is bound by the Superintendence of Lucca in Piazza Puccini, so it will not be able to move).

Il Tirreno also revealed, however, that as of July 19, there were still no determinations or resolutions related to a process such as the one envisaged by the mayor, nor were there any contracts for the restoration (“a passage,” the Tuscan newspaper speculated, “evidently still in the process of being perfected with regard to the bureaucratic and economic part of the entrustment of the restoration.”) The city is therefore waiting for answers from the mayor, who in the meantime is being harshly attacked. Scarlett Martina also wrote that from the photographs it appeared that some parts of the sculpture were missing, particularly the taller ones (“perhaps,” she speculated, “because in this shed they could not be properly hidden”), and some citizens speculate that the work has suffered damage during the many months of forced storage. “Del Ghingaro,” raises another candidate for city council, Anna Mahjar-Barducci, a candidate for More Democracy, “has complained, saying that criticism of the state of the sails are ’snarky stances’ and that the sails are safe. Show them to us then. The citizenry wants to have a chance to check their condition. If they are indeed in a suitable place, the criticism will subside. If, however, they were in a Sea shed and pieces were missing from the sculpture, the mayor should resign. It is unacceptable to see the art of a great Italian master offended.”

Pictured: left, the Oceanics in Puccini Square, right in images released by Rossella Martina.

Viareggio, Turcato's monument dismantled in waste company shed

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