Synchronous Worlds

Flavia Zaffora

doi:10.14195/1647-8681_11_12_9

Abstract

In the Mediterranean basin, the archaeological presence is extremely relevant and diffuse. Together with this is a difficult intertwining with contemporary urban settlements, which archaeology, by tradition, has to be protected from. If conservation is the goal of restoration, the problem of the cohabitation between past and present use is still an issue. This paper will focus on the project of enhancement of the archaeological park of the Greek colony of Naxos, near Messina, in Sicily, led by the Department of Architecture of the University of Palermo in cooperation with the administrative head of the park. At the crossroads between the sea, the highway, a lemon orchard and the city of Giardini Naxos, the ancient Greek settlement could be an example of coexistence of the different layers composing the landscape, with the aim of making history and archaeology come to life as synchronous components of the contemporary fruition of the place.

Highlights

Like the rest of Southern Italy, Sicily was an obligatory stop of the Gran Tour of scholars and voyagers from all over Europe since the 18th century, which had its peak during the 19th century, after the discovery of the Temple of Paestum
At the crossroads between the sea, the highway, a lemon orchard and the city of Giardini Naxos, the ancient Greek settlement could be an example of coexistence of the different layers composing the landscape, with the aim of making history and archaeology come to life as synchronous components of the contemporary fruition of the place
Born as twin of the homonym Cycladic island of Naxos, in the Aegean sea, Naxos is a very peculiar example of how the archaeological site is, in some way, forced to coexist with the contemporary city in the Mediterranean area: the place is a highly touristic seaside resort, at the crossroads with the railway connecting Catania to Messina and very close to Taormina and the Alcantara valley; the park itself has been a lemon orchard for at least a century and the rest of the Greek city lies among the contemporary buildings, sometimes as a fenced area, sometimes still hidden under the basements.[1]

Summary

Flavia Zaffora University of Palermo

Synchronous Worlds — Architecture, Archaeology and City through a Project in Sicily. In the Mediterranean basin, the archaeological presence is extremely relevant and diffuse. Together with this is a difficult intertwining with contemporary urban settlements, which archaeology, by tradition, has to be protected from. At the crossroads between the sea, the highway, a lemon orchard and the city of Giardini Naxos, the ancient Greek settlement could be an example of coexistence of the different layers composing the landscape, with the aim of making history and archaeology come to life as synchronous components of the contemporary fruition of the place

Introduction

Evocation and Imagination

Conclusions