Antico Corso, the challenge begins to make the neighborhood a major cultural hub

At the latitudes of the Antico Corso neighborhood, the project is truly ambitious; it aims to make the (too little known) sites in the area accessible and interconnected: the air raid shelter on via Daniele, the Bastione degli Infetti, and the Roman tomb with the Bishop's Tower, the Garden on via Biblioteca, and the Benedictine Monastery. The first three sites have lived a life of their own over the years since their rediscoveries, with more or less effective attempts at enhancement by various local entities.

The opportunity that was awaited and has been seized is the “Historical Artistic Cultural Call 2025” promoted by Fondazione con il Sud, to which the project “Air Raid Shelter via Daniele Catania” has been submitted by Officine Culturali, Comitato popolare Antico Corso, Arci Territorial Committee Catania, Etnean Speleological Center (Cse), and the association Le cave di Rosso Malpelo. On March 17, just one day before the call's deadline and with the favorable vote of the council led by Enrico Trantino, the Municipality also became a partner in the project, thus fulfilling a specific clause of the call under penalty of exclusion. Now all that remains is to wait for the outcome.

The odds of winning are quickly calculated: one in six. The call indeed provides a total fund of 4 million euros; the entities allowed to participate come from the regions of Sicily, Sardinia, Puglia, Campania, Basilicata, and Molise, and the maximum amount that can be requested is set at 750 thousand euros per project with co-financing of 80% of the requested amount. However, the call from Fondazione con il Sud is only the first option. "The project exists, and we already have a potential plan B and C – assures Francesco Mannino from “Officine Culturali”, a social cooperative that has been granted the air raid shelter on via Daniele by the State Property – However, for the call with our project, we requested the maximum amount, 750 thousand euros, not a gamble, but a commitment and assumption of responsibility considering that we partners will have to bear about 150 thousand euros of the total ourselves. The formula of the call is clear: an opportunity is given to be made operational in three years, the first year for structural interventions necessary to make the assets fully accessible, the other two years for promotion and management, to then be able to continue independently. The Municipality will soon intervene on the Bastione, where the construction of an access from via Plebiscito is planned."

Then there is the Roman tomb, located within an Iacp property, in a garage that had until then been illegally occupied by the grills of the “arrusti e mangia”: the discovery and subsequent studies are due to archaeologists Francesca Buscemi (Cnr – Ispc) and Michela Ursino from the Superintendency for Cultural Heritage of Catania, all of which will soon be published in the Journal Ancient Topography, a top-tier journal in the field. Currently, access to the Tomb is only through a hatch. "All this demonstrates that there is cultural ferment in Catania – adds Salvo Castro, president of the Comitato popolare Antico Corso – so far it seems that the ability to manage complex processes, which must be continuous, has been lacking." So far, indeed.