L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS the 1960s. They also recor- ded the faces and eyes of t h e G e n o e s e , s u s p e n d e d b e t w e e n m o u r n i n g a n d p r i d e ; t h e s p e c t a c u l a r beauty of a piece of archi- t e c t u r e t h a t c o u l d s o o n become a tourist spot. Its design recalls the lines of a "large white ship," it's reminiscent of the Roman g a l l e y s a n d t h e M e d i e v a l boats that, for centuries, moved in and out of Genoa's port; of the caravelle that brought Cristoforo Colombo back home; of all the schoo- n e r s a n d t h e b r i g s t h a t w a v e d g o o d b y e t o t h e L a n t e r n a , s y m b o l o f Genoa herself and highest l i g h t h o u s e i n t h e Mediterranean; of the large transatlantic ships that led the dreams of millions of Italians across the ocean, all the way to America. A m o n g t h e m , t w o i l l u - strious men, Ligurians like R e n z o P i a n o , l i n k e d t o a n o t h e r w o n d e r : t h e Golden Gate Bridge. It was financed by a banker, son of two Italian migrants coming from tiny Favale di M a l v a r o , i n V a l Fontanabuona: A m a d e o P e t e r G i a n n i n i . I t w a s i n a u g u r a t e d b y m a y o r A n g e l o R o s s i , w h o s e f a t h e r h a d l e f t V a l Graveglia, near Genoa, for the United States on a cargo s h i p f i l l e d w i t h m a r b l e . Renzo Piano, who used to walk the Valpocevera hand in hand with his father, was born in 1937, the same year when, on the other side of the world, the Golden Gate B r i d g e w a s c o m p l e t e d . Here, in the San Francisco B a y , t h e L i g u r i a n a n d Genoese community is still thriving. "This bridge, simple and strong, is made of iron and wind, just like this city — Piano said, citing a poem by G i o r g i o C a p r o n i — i t plays with light: when you reach it from the Northern regions, here you discover the sea. Here, you discover t h e l i g h t o f t h e Mediterranean and today, light plays with the shape of the bridge, a ship's hull, a n d p l a y s w i t h t h e w i n d , too." Beauty, we were saying. Because the bridge reclaims this territory's identity and history, animating the cultu- ral inheritance of this hard- working and wonderful cor- ner of Italy. But also becau- s e , s u s p e n d e d a s i t i s between the past and a futu- re of renewal, it seems very appropriate for Genova la S u p e r b a , a s t h e g r e a t Francesco Petrarca, precur- sor of the Renaissance, cal- led it in 1358: "Vedrai una città regale, addossata ad una collina alpestre, super- ba per uomini e per mura, il cui solo aspetto la indica Signora del mare," you will s e e a r e g a l c i t y , l e a n i n g against an alpine hill, its people and walls haughty, her very sight telling she is t h e L a d y o f t h e S e a . " B e c a u s e t h i s b r i d g e h a s been conceived to be in har- mony with its surroundings: its see-through protective barriers allow to enjoy the view over the city and the sea. Light glides on its surfa- c e t o m i t i g a t e i t s v i s u a l impact. Yet, its presence is maje- stic: 1067 meters in length, 19 spans of steel (24.000 tons) and concrete (67.000 cubic meters), elevating the s t r e e t a t 4 5 m e t e r s . Supported by 18 pillars, one each 50 to 100 meters, the bridge crosses the Polcevera r i v e r a n d t h e r a i l w a y . Enormous, yet light: it flows through the landscape like a v i t a l a r t e r y i n a b o d y . Functional and understated, i t j o i n s t h e R i v i e r a d i Levante with the Riviera di Ponente. It joins, just like all b r i d g e s d o . " B u i l d i n g i s beautiful, it's like magic, a n d b u i l d i n g b r i d g e s i s beautiful because it's act of peace," Piano, the starchi- tect, said. But aesthetic beauty does not solely lie in the poetry and harmony of forms, in t h e e s s e n t i a l i t y o f l i n e s . Never such a complex struc- t u r e h a s b e e n b u i l t s o quickly in Italy, and during a t i m e m a d e e v e n m o r e challenging because of the first tragic months of the C o v i d - 1 9 p a n d e m i c . T h i s bridge is beautiful because it tells of a stubborn country, able to look forward and to show resilience in the midst o f t h e w o r s t o f s t o r m s . D u r i n g i t s i n a u g u r a t i o n , incredibly, a luminous rain- bow held the new bridge in an embrace that dried the rain, the same rain under which the Morandi bridge had collapsed. Just a few moments before the ribbon- c u t t i n g c e r e m o n y , P r i m e Minister Giuseppe Conte declared: "This is the result of Italy's ingenuity, of the s t r e n g t h o f i t s w o r k a n d creative energy," and that it all took place thanks to "an Italian team that worked with competence, resilien- c e , f a i t h , m o v e d b y t h e necessity to react against t r a g e d y a n d m a n a g e d t o build anew a structure that is also a symbol of redemp- tion. The bridge we inaugu- rate today comes from this strength, from a will to put b a c k t o g e t h e r w h a t h a d beed severed, but also from c o m p e t e n c e a n d f r o m talent." In other words, the Ponte San Giorgio is "the d e m o n s t r a t i o n t h a t o u r country knows how to get back on its feet and knows how to get back running." "Genova — mayor Marco Bucci declared in front of t h e P r e s i d e n t o f t h e Republic Sergio Mattarella — built a model of success. Genova and this building site represent a message of faith and hope for the futu- re: we want Italy to become a model." We were talking about technological beauty and Italian ingenuity. This 202 million euro bridge, realized b y S o c i e t à P e r g e n o v a ( a joint venture between Salini Impregilo and Fincantieri I n f r a s t r u c t u r e ) , w i t h t h e participation of 330 busi- nesses and 1184 workers, is e n t i r e l y " s m a r t . " T h i s i s thanks to entirely robotized systems able to record even the smallest of changes in its structure, and monitor fully both its normal wear and tear and the potential damage caused by extraor- dinary events. Photovoltaic panels provide the electri- city necessary to activate the 43 streetlights — one for each victim of the Morandi bridge disaster, making of it a highly sustainable structu- re. An innovative de-humi- dification system will pro- tect it from the damages of the saline air flowing from t h e s e a . T h e S a n G i o r g i o B r i d g e i s a n e n g i n e e r i n g work able to resist usage, winds, extreme temperatu- res, earthquakes; it means it w i l l n o t o n l y m a k e t h e h i s t o r y o f c o n t e m p o r a r y Italian architecture, but will also represent the state of the art for infrastructures engineering as a whole. "I don't see it as a miracle — R e n z o P i a n o , w h o h a s more that 50 years of expe- rience on his shoulders and built all over the world — just a beautiful thing happe- ned. Our country showed its best side. There was great competence, great research, g r e a t g e n e r o s i t y . " P i a n o , who supervised the coming together of the bridge step by step and often visited the building site, didn't only wish his structure to last 1000 years and to be loved, but also called it, without hesitation, "Simply extraor- dinary. The most beautiful project of my entire life." Continued from page 4 From left: governor of Liguria Giovanni Toti, Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Mayor of Genoa Marco Bucci (Photo license: CC/BY NC SA 3.0 IT) Renzo Piano visits the building site in 2019 (Photo: Giovanna Giusto)

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