After almost two months since the night when the overflowing of the river Cervo swept away Hydro, the Terme Culturali, part of Accademia Unidee’s classrooms and other areas of Fondazione Pistoletto (for a total loss of 1300 sqm of exhibition, performance, rehearsal and storage space) the works are continuing as planned, as is the crowdfunding campaign Protect Cittadellarte on the DeRev platform. Following consultations with professionals and institutions to define the appropriate interventions, two weeks ago (as mentioned in a previous article) a passage was opened giving access to the riverbed of the Cervo, which has allowed the operators to move the containment reef close to the water and build a ramp. Two weeks on, the first result is about to be achieved: rubble and debris from the collapsed part of the building have almost been cleared.

Emanuele Bottigella, from Cittadellarte’s Architecture Office, has updated us on the progress of the works: “After the removal of the debris,” he said, “we could confirm that the external wall of the library and of the room housing the Arte Povera exhibition had been damaged by the collapse. After consulting with the relevant specialists, we have decided to proceed with the strengthening of the wall, to then complete the demolition of the Hydro space”. To carry out these new operations, Cittadellarte had to hire a specialised contractor and an engineer to be in charge of the safety of both working sites. “We have in fact split the working site into two: the company that dealt with the clearing of the debris in the main building is now doing the same in the area of the Museum of the Past (where another access ramp had to be built to access the turbine hall), while the new one is taking care of the strengthening of the wall. All the removal and disposal operations,” Bottigella concluded, “are being conducted in respect of all the safety measures”.
Updates will follow.