Archaeology and nature: hyblean cultural landscape and territorial ...

Industrial heritage, collective identity and eco-museums: the case-study
of Floristella-Grottacalda mining site
Antonella VERSACI 1 , Alessio CARDACI 2
(1)
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Motor Sciences, University of Enna “KORE”, Italy
E-mail: antonella.versaci@unikore.it
(2)
Faculty of Engineering, University of Bergamo, Italy
E-mail: alessio.cardaci@unibg.it
Abstract
Lack of values and sloppiness characterize our territories, even if they are full of cultural resources, as in
Enna. A spread heritage often left to itself, no longer or only few integrated into the active life of places.
However, dispersed in a landscape of rare beauty, significant examples of an important chapter in the
Sicilian history, connected to the historical exploitation of its large sulfurous deposits, rise. Among these, the
Floristella and Grottacalda mining site, located not far from the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Villa
Romana del Casale, is one of the most expressive examples of industrial archeology in Southern Italy. In this
area, still visible and dramatically evocative are the signs of several ages as well as the systems and
methods of mining and sulfur melting. Only partially located within protected enclosures and managed by a
park governing body that should take care of its safeguarding, this place appears quite “distant” from people
who do not ”recognize themselves” in it. Nevertheless, if properly protected and promoted - i.e. in the
framework of an eco-museum structure - and connected to the territory; when studied for scientific and
educational reasons, in close collaboration with the community and in synergy with the Institutions, such
heritage would be a very useful tool for the reinforcement of identities among the population. It will also help
to increase cultural and environmental heritage awareness, collaborating for its preservation.
Parole chiave: cultural heritage – industrial heritage - eco-museums - Sicily
1. Introduction
Looking towards the existing city - in general, fully built, dense and chaotic - the gradual fade of those values
that give meaning to a physical location, allowing its transmission to future generation, is becoming
increasingly evident. This loss of identity can be seen in many historic cities, often characterized by atopic
landscapes in which stand contemporary edifices built according to homologating processes, unrelated to
the morphological and/or constructive relationships with the environment and the permanence of memory.
Moving away from the old town, the sense of disorientation is even more understandable: plunged in the
urban sprawl, extraordinary signs of the past remain silent and solitary. Used also in relatively recent times
for productive purposes and finally forced to abandon the old tasks and the original functions - they are
looking for new opportunities to transform and adapt to contemporary needs. These industrial areas, now
neglected, deserve to be rediscovered, restored and reconnected to the real world, because they are
expression and reflection of those technological, economic and social values that have characterized the socalled
"machine age"; of that culture of work that has deeply influenced the course of the 20 th century,
providing a substantial contribution to the development of human civilization.
Nowadays, they represent the promise and the challenge of intervention possibilities to be undertaken for the
sake of future generations [1]. They can also be considered a response to the needs of adaptability and
flexibility, increasingly rare in highly structured cities, often degraded, crystallized and congested.
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