L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 9 As with most extraordinary projects, they begin with extraor- dinary people and their inspira- tional ideas. The new Piazza St. Francis-The Poets' Plaza has been Lawrence Ferlinghetti's vis ion for decades and that vision will soon be realized in one of San Francisco's most his- toric and iconic neighborhoods, North Beach, the City's Little Italy. The piazza w ill nes tle between Grant and Columbus Avenues on Vallejo Street in front of the National Shrine of Saint Francis. According to Dennis Sullivan, the plaza's architect, ground breaking is cur- rently scheduled for October 2 nd . Yes, this does mean that North Beach is changing, again, but unlike some of the more recent changes, such as the clo- sure of Capp's Corner and the temporary (hopefully not perma- nent) clos ure of the U .S . Restaurant, the newest change is a good thing. Back in 2009, Poet Laureate Lawrence Ferlinghetti founded the P iazza S t. F rancis Association, a 501.C3 founda- tion working toward establishing a piazza in front of St. Francis of A s s is i church on V allejo Street. Under the plan, this icon- ic block of North Beach would be closed to vehicular traffic transforming the roadway into an Italian-style pedestrian plaza, a vision he says was inspired by the lovely piazzas of Italy, a public square that will be an oasis for San Franciscans and world travelers. Lawrence's vision statement in his own words: "This is my updated vision of the Piazza Saint Francis on Vallejo Street, S an F rancis co, betw een Columbus Avenue and Grant Avenue, with the Shrine of Saint Francis on one side and the Café Trieste on the other. I first con- ceived of the P iazza S aint Francis as the Poets' Plaza in 1998, but it was not until 2002 w hen the architect D ennis Sullivan returned to the City that we formed a working committee of enthusiastic residents and cre- ated an architectural rendering of the P iazza as w e envis ioned it. We later recruited Angela Alioto as prime mover and shak- er, and her leadership has been invaluable. I conceived the Plaza as a great public space where writers from all over America could come and recite their w orks (with quotes from great poets incised in the paving stone) – a plaza that would become the active literary center of the City. Inner cities around the coun- try are tardily learning that they do not have to allow automobile and car culture to overrun them. The Piazza Saint Francis is one attempt to stem the dirty tide of cars and trucks. The Piazza will be one barrier to cars polluting our neighborhood – which hopefully will lead to U pper G rant A venue finally becoming a pedestrian mall." Project plans describe the new plaza's location as "a peaceful enclave . . . an essential link between the neighborhood major thoroughfares , G rant and Columbus Avenues, with their excellent restaurants and fine shops…situated between the landmark National Shrine of Saint Francis and the historic Café Tries te". A ll of thes e descriptors sound quite positive indeed. The Poets Plaza is a civic pro- ject to be created by neighbor- hood volunteers, donations, and community grants. Beautifully resurfaced and tiled, the street w ill be trans formed into an inviting community park with s mall trees and flow ering plants. The transformation will include blocking each end with movable planters to accommo- date fire and emergency access, movable chairs, wood and stone benches and trees in movable planting boxes. Much like a village square, the new piazza is envisioned as a social landscape that will incor- porate a new paved surface of green and white marble bands that are inspired by Italy's mag- nificent cathedrals in Florence and Siena. The alternating mar- ble bands are intended to be timeless and will extend from the face of Saint Francis to the face of Café Trieste as a symbol- ic bridge that will connect and unite the his tory of thes e remarkable landmarks to the future of North Beach. It will have new deciduous shade trees and perhaps a water feature to reflect the sky and viewer. The quotations to be incised in the paving of the piazza will be those chosen by Ferlinghetti and w ill include D ante Alighieri's, "In the middle of the journey of our life, I found myself in a dark wood…", Walt Whitman's, "A great city is that which has the greatest men and women.", and Ferlinghetti's, "Abandon all despair, ye who enter here". Intended to be inspirational, it does seem a pro- ject befitting one of the world's most charismatic cities, an urban space for reflective and peaceful thoughts. It certainly seems 2015 will be a landmark year, one of many landmark years , for M r. F erlinghetti. H is vis ionary Piazza St. Francis-The Poets' Plaza will see groundbreaking on October 2 nd . His new book, Wr iting Acr os s the Landscape: Travel Journals 1950-2013 (highlighted in a pre- vious article) will be released in October with a celebration to take place at City Lights book- store on October 20 th . View of the Piazza from Columbus Avenue. Photo credit: Dennis Sullivan A Vision Realized Is Coming to Nor th Beach: Piazza St. Francis-Poets' Plaza CATHERINE ACCARDI 650.400.4747 AdeleDS@aol.com www.AdeleDS.com BRE# 00911740 Certied Trust, Probate and Estate Specialist Expert in preparation, promotion, and negotiation! SELLING HOMES THROUGHOUT THE BAY AREA Adele Della Santina "e Right Realtor makes all the difference." Piazza St. Francis-The Poets' Plaza (rendering). Photo credit: Dennis Sullivan

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