Pietro Lojacono : restauri in Calabria e Sicilia

Abstract

The essay investigates the complex personality of the engineer Pietro Lojacono (Palermo 1900 - Rome 1972), who di- stinguished himself throughout his life in the field of conservation of the architectural and landscape heritage, not only in Italy, but also abroad and in particular on the island of Rhodes, in Greece . Lojacono was a man fully inserted into the cultural debate on the Restoration of monuments, able to testify to the principles acquired, but also to suggest new instances, such as maintaining authenticity, against the continuous replacement of degraded stones, up to the complete replacement of the material of the monuments. Among the many researches and restoration interventions, in the essay presented those relating to his initial activity (1926-1938), in the roles of the Superintendence of Calabria and Basilica- ta, and of Sicily, with the projects and the direction of the works, are emphasized, for example, the cathedral of Tropea (Vibo Valentia), the church of S. Marco in Rossano Calabro (Cosenza), the baptistery of S. Severina (Catanzaro), the bell tower of the cathedral of Melfi (Potenza), the Palatine Chapel, in the Royal Palace and the Cuba palace of Palermo