During this time, we are reminded of the 2009 earthquake which shattered Abruzzo, and the sense of solidarity which was felt here in Australia.
The community came together to support the fundraiser organised by our publishing group (Il Globo, La Fiamma, Rete Italia), which managed to raise a total sum of AUD 3,738,690.64, with a contribution of 1.5 million dollars on behalf of the federal government.
Thanks to the interest generated, the total sum then rose to AUD 4,271,279.22.
When the funds were converted in 2013, the full amount (donations plus interest) equalled 3,081,820.50 euro, and was deposited into a single account called the 'Australian Abruzzo Earthquake Appeal' with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Given that the funds were deposited in a foreign currency, they did not accumulate any further interest.
The entire amount of money raised remains in Australia to this day, and the reason for this is exclusively due to delays in the design process of the Parco Urbano at Piazza d’Armi, where the Nuovo Teatro of L’Aquila should now stand.
It had previously been decided that the funds from the 'Australian Abruzzo Earthquake Appeal' would be dedicated to this project, which is yet to be completed.
On September 12, 2011 at Palazzo Chigi in Rome, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the city of L’Aquila and the special committee representing the Italian collective and the Australian federal government to confirm that the funds would be used for the project.
Following a long process, the assignment was finally allocated in 2013 to the architect firm Modostudio of Giorgio Martocchia, Fabio Cibinel and Roberto Laurenti, who collaborated with Spanish artist, Cova Rios.
As we reported in our supplement dedicated to the Parco Urbano works on March 21, 2013, the lengthy procedure is still underway. According to the documentation provided by the city itself, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport had granted public funding of 15 million euro for the execution of the ‘Master Plan di Piazza d’Armi’ project.
The document received by our publishing group stated that the project was considered among hundreds of proposals as one of the ten most deserving for its comprehensiveness and social objectives, and it was one of the few in Italy which received 100 per cent of the funding requested.
Furthermore, thanks to the Mancia Law another 4 million euro was dedicated to the Parco Urbano project, and with “our” 3 million euro, the total sum came to 22 million euro.
On February 6, 2014, we also published the work schedule sent to us from the city of L’Aquila, according to the design plan of the project, which included the assignment of the building contract on June 10, 2014, the beginning of the works on July 9, 2014, and the conclusion on July 9, 2016.
Instead we are still at the starting point, given that the tender process was concluded just this June when the firm, Rialto Costruzioni was assigned the works of the ‘Piano Città’ competition with a cost reduction of 60.53% in relation to the starting price in the bid for the contract, which began at 18,600,000 euro.
The area dedicated to the project is equal to around 100,000 square metres, and will feature a multi-level theatre with 900 seats, underground parking, and a 1000 square metre semicircle structure which will provide space for workshops, meetings and exhibitions.
This area will complement the current sporting venue and large marketplace, all of which will be immersed in nature.
The Rialto firm will avail itself of the collaboration of two other companies - Promedia and the Società Italiana Servizi di Chieti - which will come into play during the final design phase.
