Annual report 2004 - Compagnia di San Paolo

Institutional activities in 2004
Arts
Valle di Susa project.
The Parish Church
of Sant’Antonio Abate,
Melezet (Turin).
customised tools, awareness of the cultural and also social value of the sites are by now intrinsic
characteristics of the sector’s activities and applied throughout the assessment and monitoring
procedures within the initiatives.
Civil artistic and monument heritage
Il Protocollo d’Intesa (The Protocol of Agreement) signed between the Piedmont Region and the
Regional Directorate for Cultural and Natural Heritage was confirmed and extended with the addition
of some significant historical buildings, including Agliè Castle and Adelaide Castle in Susa and the
Bishop’s Seminary library in Turin. Interest in reviving the city’s historic centre encouraged the sector to
cooperate with the local Territorial Housing Agency by restoring the dilapidated Palazzo Siccardi and
use it for cultural purposes within the area. In Naples, an extremely rewarding example of co-operation
with the City Council led to the recovery of an extended urban area marred by social degradation. It
offers a tool for revitalisation, on one side, by combining urbanisation and works of art and on the other,
by emphasising the archaeological value of the historical Piazza Bellini, heart of the city’s cultural life.
Religious artistic and monument heritage
The restoration of minor religious monuments throughout Piedmont and Liguria was possible thanks to
the second edition of the “Cantieri d’Arte” call for proposal, by now a habitual appointment for scholars
and all those involved in the subject. The parallel project “Valle di Susa: art, culture and Alpine tradition”
sought, in 2004, to enhance the many “sacred” examples throughout the Olympic valleys. As in the
past, the decision was taken to fully support the regeneration of some historical buildings that over the
years have shaped the area’s culture and living. More attention, finally, has been reserved for modern
architecture, an example of which can be seen in the extremely high quality Santo Volto complex, work
of the internationally-famous architect Mario Botta.
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Landscape heritage
The decision to widen the sector’s range of interest to include natural beauty spots provided the
opportunity to reserve a specific field of interest to landscapes. The knowledge and experience gained
from the call for proposal “PaeSaggio Piemonte” have been significant. It was launched at the end of
2003, and its development gave rise to a database that is extremely useful in documenting the
complexity of the subject and planning future activities. In that respect the research project “The future
for the cultural landscape of the Alps” shows its real value in its aim to increase the awareness that the
environment is a place to be protected.