L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano T he Belice Valley in western Sicily has come a long w a y s i n c e t h e 1968 earthquake that destroyed many towns in the area. The violent earth- quake not only annihilated p h y s i c a l l o c a t i o n s , k i l l e d a r o u n d 3 0 0 p e o p l e , a n d injured about a thousand, but also displaced 100,000 people, forcing many to emi- grate to the United States, A u s t r a l i a , C a n a d a , a n d Venezuela. Those who stayed l i v e d i n s h a c k s f o r m a n y years. Among them was the family of "Cudduredda," offi- cially Eleonora Di Girolamo, a seven-year-old girl who miraculously survived under the rubble for 48 hours but u n f o r t u n a t e l y o n l y l i v e d another two days after being rescued and taken to the hos- pital. A photo of her mother at her bedside went world- w i d e . L e o n a r d a F o n t a n a , who lived to 91, never took off her mourning attire and always wore a necklace with a p e n d a n t c o n t a i n i n g h e r daughter's photograph. At the time of the tragic event, she was expecting another child, whom she named after her deceased sister. The name Gibellina like- ly derives from the Arabic "ǧabal," meaning mountain, as the village originally stood o n t h e h i l l s o f t h e u p p e r Belice. It was possibly found- ed by Arabs in the early Mid- dle Ages, with its medieval core forming in the 14th cen- tury around a castle built by M a n f r e d i C h i a r a m o n t e , Count of Modica, who also commissioned the construc- tion of the Palazzo Chiara- monte Steri in Palermo. After the 1968 earthquake, the entire town was rebuilt 20 kilometers away. Ludovi- c o C o r r a o , a lawyer and politician who was then the mayor, aimed to make it a cultural center, believing this was the only way to restore dignity to the devastated and n e g l e c t e d a r e a . H e c a l l e d u p o n l e a d i n g a r t i s t s a n d i n t e l l e c t u a l s o f t h e t i m e , receiving positive responses. The first to accept was sculp- tor and writer Pietro Con- sagra, who sought to enrich small communities, offering the territory and the national and international artistic c o m m u n i t y a c h a n c e t o engage with the continuous creativity of art, which he b e l i e v e d e x p r e s s e d t r u s t . Born in Mazara del Vallo, Trapani, on October 6, 1920, and dying in Milan on July 16, 2005, Consagra was a prestigious figure in interna- tional abstractionism. When the Belice Valley was devas- tated by the earthquake on the night of January 14-15, 1968, completely leveling the towns of Gibellina, Poggiore- ale, Salaparuta, and Monte- v a g o a n d d e c i m a t i n g t h e p o p u l a t i o n , t h e m a y o r o f Gibellina committed to mak- ing the town a city of art. W h e n P i e t r o C o n s a g r a arrived, he involved other renowned artists, architects, and intellectuals of the time. Responding to Corrao and Consagra's call were Mario Schifano, Andrea Cascella, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Mimmo P a l a d i n o , F r a n c o A n g e l i , L e o n a r d o S c i a s c i a , a n d Alberto Burri. Burri refused to place his work in the new urban context and instead created the Cretto di Burri, or Grande Cretto, on the old Gibellina, commemorating t h e e a r t h q u a k e t h a t destroyed it. This enormous concrete casting covered the earthquake's rubble, leaving only the spaces where the s t r e e t s o n c e w e r e . S o m e debris remains visible under the concrete, and the art- work's value lies in freezing the town's historical memo- ry, which the artist conceived as a shroud over a never- healed wound. Today, the Cretto remains one of the world's largest art pieces. I n c l u d e d a m o n g t h e reconstructed or newly creat- ed works "in eternal memo- ry" is the Contemporary Art M u s e u m , n a m e d a f t e r Ludovico Corrao. It can be seen as a continuous path w h e r e t h e g e n e r o s i t y o f artists who donated hun- dreds of sculptures, paint- i n g s , p h o t o g r a p h s , a n d graphic arts to the city can be found. As Corrao himself said, Gibellina is where "the generative breath of art" is tangible. A f t e r t h e e a r t h q u a k e , Gibellina rose from its ashes, becoming a laboratory of artistic experimentation that completely transformed the area. In 1981, Consagra cre- ated a large star, made of stainless steel and 24 meters high, located at the entrance to the Belice Valley. This s p i r i t o f r e b i r t h a n d t h e desire for continual growth, e m b r a c i n g n e w a r t s a n d methods of representing art, has driven Gibellina to bid for the title of Contempo- rary Art Capital 2026. The application dossier must be submitted by June 30. The town, in the province of Trapani, is determined to present its best case for this prestigious candidacy, with the support and collabora- tion of the municipality of Erice. The new recognition, pro- m o t e d b y t h e M i n i s t r y o f Culture, aims to "encourage and support the planning and implementation capacity of Italian cities in the field of contemporary art promotion and enhancement... through the realization of cultural projects that include exhibi- tions, festivals, and events, as well as the creation and rede- v e l o p m e n t o f s p a c e s a n d areas dedicated to enjoy- ment, to increasingly recog- nize the value of culture for the national identity process, social cohesion and inclu- sion, integration, creativity, i n n o v a t i o n , e c o n o m i c growth, and individual and collective well-being." For Gibellina, this candidacy has special significance. "Our history, our works, and the artistic activities always pre- s e n t i n G i b e l l i n a a r e t h e starting point for the candi- dacy project," says Mayor Salvatore Sutera. The ambi- tion is to offer the territory and "the national and inter- national artistic community the opportunity to connect with the continuous creativi- ty of art that expresses trust." However, Gibellina is not the only Sicilian city aiming for the National Contempo- r a r y A r t C i t y 2 0 2 6 t i t l e : Catania is also preparing its projects. Its goal is to revital- ize the capital of eastern Sici- ly by making cultural and artistic production systemat- ic, creating new develop - ments for the local economy, and renewed social cohesion to create a unique artistic and cultural context with the contribution of the territory. TERESA DI FRESCO LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Gibellina: from the 1968 earthquake to a new vision for 2026 The Cretto di Burri (Photo: Massimo Brucci/Dreamstime) and, bottom left, eerie ruins in Poggioreale, which became a ghost town after the Belice earthquake (Photo: Sabino Parente/Dreamstime)

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