Palazzo Piacentini, seat of the Court of Messina, was opened on the occasion of the 2024 Spring FAI Days and visited by a continuous flow of families, groups and associations. This is a rare opportunity to appreciate the aesthetic caliber of one of the elegant buildings of the post-earthquake reconstruction project which aimed to redesign a city that is not only safe, but also beautiful.
There are 521 young “apprentice guides” who are accompanying the people of Messina in normally inaccessible environments, such as some classrooms of the former Magistrates' Court, the premises of the General Prosecutor's Office, the Court of Assizes, the Court of Appeal and those of the Council of the Bar Association which house a valuable library of ancient texts. Thanks to the collaboration with the Regional School Office and the managers and 57 teachers, students from 16 schools were involved and trained: Liceo Statale E. Ainis; IC Cannizzaro – Galatti; IC G. Catalfamo; IC E. Drago; IC Gravitelli ; IIS Liceo Classico F. Maurolico; IC G. Martino; IC G. Mazzini; IIS G. Minutoli; IC Pascoli-Crispi; G. Seguenza Scientific High School, IC S. Francesco di Paola; IIS La Farina – Basile; IIS Verona Trento; IC E. Vittorini. The story of one of the most monumental public buildings built after the 1908 earthquake which destroyed all the offices of the administration of justice, housed in the emergency on the steamship Savoia and then in the barracks of the Villa Mazzini area, is told. According to the Borzì master plan, the new Court was built on the land previously occupied by the Hospital of S. Maria della Pietà and the architect Marcello Piacentini (1881-1960) was chosen for the project in 1921. Construction, interrupted by the outbreak of the Great War, resumed in 1923 and the inauguration of the building took place in 1928.
Many people from Messina have decided to visit Palazzo Piacentini. A success confirming the quality of this event which every year introduces Messina's residents to important Messina monuments.