A real jewel of Norman architecture hidden among the bowels of the earth that houses a millennial religious history. The crypt of the Duomo reopened today, among the most expensive places in the Messina. It is actually a church with a surface corresponding to the transept of the cathedral, named after Santa Maria under the Cathedral which, at the same time, also served as a burial place. In 2009 the site, inserted among the “places of the heart” Fai, had recorded the boom of visitors with 29 thousand access; In 2016, the last (temporary) opening before the long “black out” linked to the need to submit it to a conservative restoration process after the interventions of 2000. The details were presented last night during a press conference in the presence of the archbishop’s delegate for the cathedral Msgr. Roberto Romeo, of the director of the works, the architect Mirella Vinci and the mayor Federico Basile.
A long and complex route – shared by the Archdiocese owner of the property (whose management and use is entrusted to the Basilica Authority), with the Superintendence for Cultural and Environmental Heritage of Messina who took care of the works and the Municipality, contracting authority – made possible thanks to a loan granted by the Regional Department of Infrastructure for a total amount of 524 thousand euros. The site – explained Vinci -, built on a water table of the old portal stream, had been damaged by the earthquakes of 1783 and 1908, by the incendiary bombs that had razed the cathedral and floods to the ground. The restoration works that have not eliminated the traces of the various waterproofing, have concerned, at the macroscopic level, the restoration of the flooring, the implementation of the electrical system for the enhancement of ceilings and stuccos and the creation of catwalks and serviscala to make the crypt accessible to everyone. From a microscopic point of view, the works – explained the official of the Superintendency Stefania Lanuzza – brought to light the decorative apparatus of the church (entrusted in the seventeenth century to the ancient confraternity of the slaves of Mary), composed of stuccos and paintings, in particular the medallions depicting faces of Saints Messinesi.
“I am satisfied with this result, having returned to the city this site of immense beauty fills me with joy,” said Vinci that he carried on the project with tenacity, hoping for the finding of new funds as soon as possible for the completion of the restoration work. The architect was flanked by colleagues Andrea Milici, the sole manager of the procedure, and by Nino Sidoti, coordinator for security. The work was carried out by the Macerata LdR company by Paolo Pallotto with the restorers Agata Trischitta and Marianna Torre; The cognitive investigations on walls, stuccos and plasters were entrusted to the geocheck of Mauro Corrao and Antonio Lo Presti, the catwalks and Serviscala were made by Sigma Group and Tes, while the expert Gioacchino Santamaria with the Viabizzuno company took care of the implementation of the electrical systems. Today at 11.45 the inaugural ceremony took place in the presence of the mayor Basile and the archbishop Giovanni Accolla. The crypt will be open to visitors until 20; Tomorrow, the eve of the feast of the Madonna della Lettera, on the occasion of the Marian night from 8 to 23.30 and day 3 from 8 to 16.30. In this first period, access to the site will be free.
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