Gibellina - reborn from its roots through art and architecture

Abstract

Gibellina (from the Arabic gebel, mountain) is a small town in central Sicily, in the Province of Trapani, destroyed by the earthquake in the Belice Valley in 1968. The new town “Gibellina Nuova” was rebuilt 18 km from the old one, in a rural plain near the train station of Salemi. The ISES (Institute for Social Building Development) drew the general plan on the example of the ‘garden town’. The new settlement was unrelated to the urban local tradition and to the agricultural patterns of the site. In 1971, when the residences were ready but the facilities had still to be made, the Mayor Corrao called many of the most prominent artists and architects to “humanise” the town. Even though the final result is a collection of different art and architectural pieces with little relations to each other, Gibellina is the most known rebuilt town of the Belice Valley. Its inhabitants recognise the identity that art and architecture aroused and strengthened. The city’s core is the Civic Center with the Town Hall by the group led by G. Samonà, the Main Church by L. Quaroni, Palazzo Di Lorenzo by F. Venezia; residences by O. M. Ungers, by P. Nicolin, and by F. Purini and L. Thermes; and squares by F. Purini and L. Thermes. The town, large about 150 ha, is an open-air museum with more than fifty works of art spread in it: a sculpture for each road, murals, art installations, and pieces from theatre sets.