There is a strong thread that binds Notre Dame to the narrow and Calabrian banks. A long bridge that makes us recognize ourselves as Europeans without fragmentation. The meeting point is two young people, a Sicilian and a Calabrian, who participated in the “reassembly” and healing, metaphorical and material, of the wounded collective history, after the fire that in 2019 caused the collapse of the roof and very serious damage to the cathedral, the beating soul of the French capital. The missing treasure will open its doors.
Roberto Merlo from Messinaborn in 1989, graduated in Urbino in conservation of cultural heritage, as a child he got lost in museums and frowned when they told him that those masterpieces couldn’t be touched. And instead he then gave life to many jewels in France, which became his second home, the place where he demonstrated his boundless talent, after specializing in painting and polychrome works. In France, another Italian talent, a well-known restorer, welcomed him for a great work: the restoration of the Orléans Chancellery. A daydream for the Sicilian child who grew up with many desires and with the catchphrase “don’t touch”. And who instead “touched” it, participating in the restoration of many masterpieces: «The Four Seasons» by Arcimboldo in the Louvre museum, «David and Goliath» by Guido Reni as well as «St. Thomas» by Diego Velázquez and the «Massacre of Scio” by Eugène Delacroix.
«Notre Dame is shining again – he tells us – and what it holds is another work that we followed with the Arcanes company and with Cinzia Pasquali. In particular, together with many other professionals, we have restored the “Mays de Notre Dame” (13 monumental religious paintings created by the greatest French painters of the 17th century) which will finally be rehung and accessible to the public again. A great emotion to be proud of.”
The Calabrian Livio De Luca, originally from Amanteawith a degree from the Mediterranean University of Reggio, lover of «Nuovo Cinema Paradiso» directed the digital construction site for the restoration of the cathedral as we have often reported in Gazzetta del Sud: «The reopening of Notre Dame – he says – represents a moment of great emotion, not only for those who worked tirelessly on the restoration of the cathedral, but also for the scientific community which, with its contribution, accompanied this process. Notre Dame is not only a physical monument coming back to life, but also a “digital cathedral” of scientific data and knowledge. The work carried out in recent years has produced an intangible heritage made up of 3D models, annotations and interdisciplinary data which constitute an extraordinary resource that will continue to reveal its value over time, allowing new discoveries and innovative approaches in the study and conservation of heritage”. The reopening therefore marks a beginning: «The start of a phase – he continues – in which the accumulated knowledge can be shared, enriched and made accessible for future generations. It is an opportunity to demonstrate how digital can not only preserve the past, but also stimulate new reflections on our relationship with cultural heritage.”
A future field to explore? Resources that will give life to a museum, which will be opened in 2028 right next to the cathedral.
Dozens of leaders from all over the world are expected. For Italy, President Mattarella and Prime Minister Meloni
«Notre-Dame of the world. Notre-Dame of humanity.” Around forty heads of state and government are expected at the reopening ceremony of Notre-Dame de Paris, the Parisian cathedral partially devastated by the fire in April 2019 and returned to France and the world in just five years, as promised by the president , Emmanuel Macron, thanks to the work of thousands of workers.
Among the first to respond to the invitation to the Ile-de-la Cité, the island along the Seine where Notre-Dame has stood since the Middle Ages, the Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, who was the first international leader to go to the cathedral still covered by rubble two weeks after the fire, on 2 May 2019. But Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will also be present. The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, and the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky are also expected: the ceremony could transform into a pre-peace summit on Ukraine, given that from Kiev they make it clear that a meeting between the two “is possible” .
Many European leaders. Absent Ursula von der Leyen, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Croatian Zoran Milanovic, Bulgarian Roumen Radev, Estonian Alar Karis, Finnish Alexander Stubb, and Lithuanian Lituanien Gitanas Nauséda are expected. Among the crowned heads, Philippe and Mathilde of Belgium as well as Principal Albert of Monaco. Also expected are the premiers of Armenia, Nikol Pachinian, the Georgian president Salomé Zourabichvili, the Serbian prime minister, MIlos Vucevic, the president of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani and the Dutch prime minister, Dick Schoof.
Many African leaders will also participate in the global event, such as the president of Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Tshisekedi, but also Brice Oligui Nguema (Gabon) and Faure Gnassingbe (Togo). The outgoing American president, Joe Biden, will be represented in Paris by his wife Jill.
The fire sparked an unprecedented outburst of solidarity, with aid from all over the world amounting to 844 million euros. Crucial for the rebirth of Notre-Dame de Paris, after five years of work, were thousands of workers, architects, restorers – including Italians – who worked hard despite constraints and difficulties: starting with the risks linked to lead dust or the stop of the construction site during Covid-19.