The Fai Spring Days turn 30 looking at Ukraine: 100 thousand euros for a property wounded by the war

A flash of celebration in the midst of these gloomy days of war: an occasion in which joy in the face of the wonders of our country will become a moment of meditation on the meaning and role of cultural heritage, mirror of the identity of a nation, witness of its history and values ​​of civil life. The thirtieth edition of the Fai Spring Days which on 26 and 27 March will open to the public over 700 places usually inaccessible or little known in 400 Italian cities, was born having in the eyes and in the heart – as underlined by the president of the Foundation, Marco Magnifico – the images of the Christ of Lviv, of Ukrainian theaters that have become bunkers or destroyed, of monuments drowned in sandbags or wrapped up to protect them as a treasure to be left intact for future generations. In the belief that “beauty”, seen as an inseparable intertwining of aesthetics and ethics, will be, according to Fedor Dostoevskji’s statement, capable of “saving the world“.

The presentation of the Days opens with the announcement that FAI will allocate 100,000 euros to restore a Ukrainian monument when the weapons are finally silent. Then, it unravels in the description of the grandiose and surprising carousel that, over the weekend of next week, will lead us to the discovery or rediscovery of villas and palaces, archaeological areas and castles, libraries and collections and museums – all flagged with the Ukrainian banner – helping us to reconnect to our past as the root of the present. The possibility of accessing the cathedral of SS. Sergio and Bacchus, of the Ukrainian Byzantine rite that overlooks Piazza Madonna dei Monti in Rome. Founded in the Roman imperial era, it has come down to us after renovations and restorations over the centuries.

Participants in the Days, to whom a non-compulsory contribution starting from 3 euros will be suggested, will be guided in these itineraries where the Beautiful is often intertwined with the unusual and the curious, by thousands of Ciceroni apprentice students. Choosing from the countless offers, here, in Rome, is the Casino dell’Aurora Ludovisi with the magnificent fresco by Guercino. And again: Palazzo Corsini, seat of the oldest scientific academy in the world, that of the Lincei, and the Roman College which houses the Ministry for Culture. Genoa offers the whimsical Mackenzie Castle, built at the end of the 19th century by the architect Coppedè, while Parma presents its Parco della Musica, the conversion of an industrial complex with an auditorium designed by Renzo Piano. Palermo, in addition to the delightful Villino Ida designed by Basile, will open, in the Palazzo di Giustizia, the museum dedicated to Falcone and Borsellino housed in the “bunkerino”, three rooms where the magistrates isolated themselves to work in absolute confidentiality.

Among the thematic itineraries, an exciting cross-section of life, the one that winds between Lecce and its province dedicated to the buildings in which tobacco was processed, but also the “journey” between architecture and history, proposed in Turin with a visit to the Palazzo del Rectorate of the University, the headquarters of the Department of Biology in the seventeenth-century convent of Santa Croce and the Molecular Biotechnology Center in which interesting inserts of contemporary architecture coexist with the historical fabric. Heterogeneity is the distinctive feature of the Fai Days. Thus Sulmona opens the doors of its historic confectioneries, Spilimbergo those of the Friuli School for Mosaicists, while Brugnato, in the province of La Spezia, will offer a “taste” of its traditional infiorata.

Follow LaStampa Viaggi on Facebook (click here)

Don’t miss the free weekly newsletter, if you want to subscribe click here