The most important bet will be to construct around the Memorial a living reality\u201d. It is one of the hopes that Daniele De Paz, President of the Jewish Community of Bologna, expressed at the inauguration of the city\u2019s Holocaust Memorial, in January 2016. Installed in a recently built square, in a space adjacent to the high-speed railway station, it was designed by Onorato di Manno, Andrea Tanci, Gianluca Sist, Lorenzo Catena and Chiara Cucina, winners of an international competition whose jury was presided over by a renowned architect: Peter Eisenman, author of the famous Berlin Memorial.
\nA project that, commented De Paz, \u201cconveys emotion and energy\u201d. A lot of people think so. The square, in fact, has become in the past five years a meeting and gathering place for many Bolognese citizens. Among the most frequent visitors a group of skaters, who have chosen it as the base for the expression of their creativity. A very good photographer, Massimiliano Martinelli, has immortalized their feats. \u201cFor us \u2013 says De Paz \u2013 this presence is an added value. A positive way to experience a square designed to get people to meet each other and share experiences. Especially at a time like this, given the absence of public events, an essential function. We are honoured\u201d.
\nThe main users of the Memorial area are young and very young, also, thanks to the nearby secondary school, that faces right on those spaces. \u201cThe entire area is thought of as a cultural pole, which we hope to be able to restore to the fullness of its function as early as next summer. We are thinking about some specific initiative. Obviously \u2013 emphasizes De Paz \u2013 everything will depend on the course of the pandemic\u201d.
\nA square \u201cthat does not reject\u201d says again the president of the Bolognese Jews, referring to those who, in recent weeks, have raised the issue of the night degradation. \u201cThere are some homeless people who camp there, then free up the spaces early in the morning. Some traces of their passage remain. On this we can and must intervene, urging a greater respect for the place. But the theme cannot be exploited. Social fragility exists. From that square \u2013 comments De Paz \u2013 no one must be driven away\u201d. <\/p>\n
(Photo by Massimiliano Martinelli)<\/p>\n
Translated by Oyebuchi Lucia Leonard and revised by Silvia Bozzo, students at Trieste University and the Advanced school for interpreters and Translators of Trieste University, interns at the newspaper office of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"