The Tuscan region counts approximately 150,000 Muslims, the majority of whom pray in former garages, abandoned factories and apartments. At the end of Ramadan, just days before nearly 5,000 Muslims flocked to Florence’s Fortezza da Basso to gather in collective prayer, Izzedine Elzir, the imam of Florence and president of UCOII, the national association that oversees almost all of Tuscany’s mosques and the majority of those in Italy, presented the city with a plan to build a mosque for the Muslim community.
Elzir’s proposed mosque, designed by architect David Napolitano, is strikingly similar to the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella and its facade, and features two minarets that are ‘very similar to Giotto’s bell tower … at least from a cultural and artistic point of view,’ the imam told the press. The proposed mosque would hold 3,000 of the city’s 5,000 Muslims. Locations proposed for the mosque by Florence’s Islamic community are Castello, Firenze Sud and the area of viale Nenni (near the Ipercoop) between Florence and Scandicci.
Florence’s mayor Matteo Renzi’s response was almost immediate: there is no room for building such a facility. ‘Passing from theory to practice is still far off, and there isn’t even any physical space for such a structure in Florence,’ the mayor said, denying, however, any kind of ‘ideological divisions’ because ‘everyone has the right to a place of prayer.’ The mayor concluded, saying ‘Let’s not start a religious battle over it; if there are the conditions to build it, I am available to discuss it.’
The design of the proposed mosque also did not fare well among councillors and public figures. Local councillor of culture Giuliano da Empoli was quoted as saying, ‘An imitation of Giotto or Leon Battista Alberti is ugly … I would say the same even if it were a church: you can’t copy the Renaissance. Things must be built while keeping in mind today’s world.’ Turkish architect, Orcun Ersan, in Florence for the inauguration of Piazza Tunisia (see Top Picks), commented, ‘Today, if you have to design something, it has to be something that belongs to this century, this era.’
Controversy over the design aside, the most important thing for the Islamic community in Florence is that a proper place of prayer be built, said Elzir: ‘We will work with Palazzo Vecchio to find a solution. I’m sure that it will take less time than what most expect.’
What do you think . . .…about the design of the proposed mosque (see images at www.corrierefiorentino.it)? Do you agree with non-Muslim supporters that religious freedom is a right and that all people have the right to a dignified place of worship and prayer? Or do you think that the issue is a question of aesthetics: the architectural style of mosques is not in accordance with Western and, more specifically, Florentine, styles and tastes? Email inbox@theflorentine.net
