Italians
and foreigners have the power to help preserve a remarkable historical and
cultural site in the Tuscan city of Livorno, the Temple of the Dutch and German
Congregation, known as the ‘Chiesa degli Olandesi,’ through the annual national
survey launched by the nonprofit organization Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI), in
collaboration with Italy’s third largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo.
Called
Places of the Heart (‘I Luoghi del Cuore’), the national survey allows citizens
to cast their vote, indicating which historic Italian site should be saved
through restoration. Since its establishment in 2003, the Places of the Heart
survey has led to the restoration of 11 historic sites in Italy. FAI’s main
goal is to restore and safeguard monuments and important environmental
landmarks throughout Italy and reopen them to the public. Aside from the
survey, so far FAI has restored 48 historic sites, including castles, villas,
parks and monasteries.
A
novelty this edition, the survey opens the voting to the international public,
giving both Italian residents and those who love Italy the power to help
preserve an Italian treasure that ‘they hold close to their heart.’ Once the
results of the survey are tallied, FAI will select one or more of the
top-ranked sites in need of immediate restoration to safeguard them for future
generations.
Choosing
from among a long list of Italy’s historical landmarks in need of repair, many
voters have already cast their vote and FAI recently extended the deadline to
November 30, 2012. Livorno’s Chiesa degli Olandesi is currently in third place,
behind Parco e Castello di Miramare in Trieste and the most-voted site, Reggia
di Carditello in San Tammaro, in the province of Caserta.
The
Chiesa degli Olandesi, located along Livorno’s Fosso Reale, is an important
symbol of the city’s history of multiculturalism. A protestant church and
social hub used by Livorno’s historic Dutch and German communities, it was
built in 1862-1864, just after the unification of Italy. Based on a design of
architect Dario Giacomelli, it is a rare and noteworthy example of neogothic
architecture in Livorno, featuring three rose windows and elaborate floral
decorative motifs on its façade.
The
building has an equally important history. Saved from bombings in WWII, it was
often used as a venue for noteworthy organ concerts in the post-war period. At
the end of the 1960s, it was rented to the local Christian congregation of
Seventh Day Adventists. As the congregation’s numbers dwindled, the church was
closed to the public and suffered a long period of decline. At risk of collapse
since 2005, the building is in need of immediate restoration (see a video [in
Italian] of the interior of the church here: http://tinyurl.com/c25vjmz).
Those
interested can vote online at www.iluoghidelcuore.it or by post (mail-in
ballots available at all Intesa Sanpaolo branches; see the website for other
locations that provide mail-in ballots).
