Jingqi Kay Liu

Translated from “Salvataggi di centri storici italiani” by Superstudio; Originally published in “in, argomenti e immagini di Design”, N.5, 1972.

Translation [draft]

From their book of exorcism, Superstudio has extracted for you six salvations of Italian historical centers that are propitious for the fortune of your cities.

“If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies (…) will encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” – Luke XIX, 42-44 (New International Version)

To save in order to destroy, to destroy in order to save in return; in times of apocalypse, the extreme ones connect, opposite ones equalize. Do you not see how every effort, every attempt to correct mistakes, to repair disasters, to avoid destruction, inevitably results in even more definitive mistakes, more irreparable disasters, and ever more unavoidable destruction? Man now possesses no other knowledge than that of their own destruction. A parasitic and symbiotic organism of the immense carcass of the city, aware that its survival depends on it, can do nothing but decompose it further, unleashing toxins within it that it absorbs and re-emits, more and more uncertain, more and more numb.
    Growing increasingly weak and devoid of logic, it deludes itself into finding strength by feeding even more on the putrefaction that poisons and kills it. The city, infected by the stench of the spirits that once vivified it and
made it a joyful haven for human, is now submerged by the river of history, now contaminated and transformed into a flood of sewage; the only salvation is once again destruction, the total sterilization of that organism that, born to be has become their prison and ultimately their tomb.
    The harmful symbiosis must come to an end; only by leaving the city and forgetting it decisively can man disattach his own vision from the cramped prison of walls and open it to great horizons, the joy of meadows, the boundless mystery of the sea, the invigorating ruggedness of the mountains, the infinite views of skies. The New Human, orphaned by his own civilization; an old ill mother can only smother him with her unnatural attentions; finally escaped from the city, a house of ancient dust, deformed memories, and and now meaningless words; the New Man, liberated from the ties of a past that was only a master of folly, mistakes, and prejudices; a new person, the new descendant of the world, finally free to start anew, to hope, to fight , to make mistakes, correct themselves, then make mistakes again, but finally committed to a new path, no longer sifting through waste, searching for pearls long dissolved by generations of tears. In the New Child lies our hopes, that beyond the steep of hill, on which he will trudge confidently, that he may find not the desert nor the stone pile in which we are perishing, but the blooming Eden that had been promised to us.

“The garden was full of jasmines, carnations, violets, roses, and oranges, along with every other fragrant flowers; the trees were all adorned with fruits. In the garden, there were birds of all sorts: turtle doves, nightingales and pigeons, cooing and chirping joyfully. He observed the first pavilion, around which these verses were written in gold: ‘May the veil of good fortunes shine upon you, O Magione, until the birds sing and chirp on the orchard branches.’” (One Thousand and One Nights, Night 846).

Naples

RATIONALE. For Naples, it is not so much about the physical reality of the historical center, the landscapes, or the art, but rather the metaphysical idea of a mythical land whose reality is legend. Practically, Naples, along with a few other sites (Hawaii, Disneyland, Paris…), represents the twentieth century equivalent of the “Land of Cockaigne”; therefore Naples must be absolutely safeguarded from reality.

PROPOSAL. The proposal is to enclose the center of Naples within a ‘tremendous cylindrical shed’; the inner surface of the cylinder will be painted in bright colors, depicting the panoramic landscape of Naples in the nineteenth century with the blue sea and Mount Vesuvius; a simple mechanism reproducing in a larger scale what was used for the same purpose in puppet theaters, will produce the characteristic plume of smoke from the volcano and even the flames of eruption at night.
    The ceiling of the shed will replicate a clear sky; an arched track, carrying a powerful array of lamps with rheostats and colored spotlights, will allow it to reproduce the course of the sun, including the effects of sunrise and sunset; at night, of course, a special spotlight will recreate the Moon, which will appear from the point in the background that corresponds to the Marchiaro area; a system of light bulbs will simultaneously provide the starry effect.
    (Some essential suggestions: the clothes should be torn and patched but sumptuous in appearance and above all very clean people should either run or jump gracefully or sleep in the sun – immediately evict all blonde people with blue eyes, fair complexion, and taller than 1.60 m – regarding the appearance of houses and streets, it is not deemed necessary to give advice since the achievements of the set designers in the film industry are sufficiently convincing; it is only recommended to have plenty of laundry hanging, also clean and dry).
    The realization will be completed with hidden stereophonic transmission systems, playing Neapolitan songs and hallmark shouts of street vendors (advertising may be allowed in different languages as well, but always in the form of songs and shouts).
    A circuit of aroma emitters will spread characteristic scents (pizza, macaroni, coffee, etc.) in the air through the air conditioning system.
    For a faster rotation of touriste trips, it is considered appropriate to complete the day-night alternation every four hours.

Pisa

RATIONALE. The historical center of Pisa is of no interest to anyone (except for some art history professors): the only thing that matters to the public is the strangeness of a tower that stands despite it leaning a at a frightening tilt.

PROPOSAL. The proposal is to ’tilt all the buildings’ in the
historical center of Pisa while at the same time straightening
the tower, so that it provides the “measure” of the inclination of the buildings in the city.
    All the buildings will be transformed into hotels or public venues to give tourists the sensation of living for a few hours in a tilted world. This could be the incentive for an unprecedented tourist “boom”, considering the ratio between the numbers of tourists attracted by a single leaning tower and the number that an entire tilted city could attract.

NOTE. It is not considered necessary to study a project for straightening the tower because hopefully the institutions, committees, and competitions that have been dealing with the matter for centuries will come up with a solution before the implementation of the present project.

Venice

RATIONALE. As it is known, the fundamental issue concerning the preservation of Venice is the progressive sinking of the city into the lagoon, and as a result, the aggravation of problems related to the phenomenon of “high water”.
    Equally well-known, the wave motion caused by motorized vehicles damages the fragile foundations of ancient buildings, and the city is ‘depopulating due to the particular problems that waters poses in regards to communications and the speed of travel, fundamental factors of the modern living.

PROPOSAL. The only solution to these problems is obviously the elimination of water. It is therefore proposed that the Murazzi barrier be reinforced and made continuous in order to enclose
the city in a basin, from which the water will be completely extracted.
    Once the extraction of water is completed, a ‘pavement made of glass-cement elements’ will be constructed, with its surface and color imitating water, at the level of current water surface elevation of the lagoon.
    The pavement will be supported by reinforced concrete pillars and beams, founded on the bottom of the basin; during this process, the foundations of the buildings will also be consolidated.
    The spaces that become available beneath this pavement will be able to give rise to a modern underground/subterranean city, illuminated by the fantastic green light filtered through the glass plates. Thus two superimposed cities will be formed: the lower modern one, shielded from atmospheric changes, and the upper one, historical and traditional, yet also equally adequate as other cities in terms of transportation needs.
    Considering that the gondola is an integral part of the Venetian landscape, it is deemed useful to propose the implementation of a motorized vehicle (on wheels of course) that externally perpetuates its shape; this vehicle could be operated by the gondolier without abandoning their traditional position, with the controls integrated into the handle/grip of the oar.

Milan

RATIONALE. The historical center of Milan is not at serious risk of disfigurement as long as it reacts promptly to counter the attacks that have been around for some time, (carried out) by indiscriminate anti-smog campaigns, targeting its most significant feature, the fog, an essential element of the Milanese environment.
    Therefore it is necessary to safeguard the historical center of Milan from the defacements that are perpetrated every year, even if only for short periods, by the sun and clear skies.

PROPOSAL. The proposal is to enclose the historical center of Milan in a ‘cubic cage’ made of a lattice of pipes that, through special nozzles, will blow the best-quality ‘smog’ inside the cube.
    Results of in-depth technological and economic studies will determine the choice between these options:
    a) synthetic production of smog;
    b) storing natural smog in specialized pressure tanks to be reused later during periods of need.

NOTE. To avoid depleting the city atmosphere, it is considered appropriate to carry out the collection for storage of smog from the countryside, providing in case of shortage as addition/supplement to industrial fumes, for which agreements can be made with those industries whose gaseous by-products prove to be suitable for the purpose.

Rome

RATIONALE. The renowned Italian archaeologist Amedeo Majuri, who served for many years as the Superintendent of Antiquities in Campania and Director of the Archeological Excavations of Pompeii, believed that i t was deeply mistaken to remove archaeological treasures from the protection of the earth, which had preserved them for millennia, and to expose them to the disruptive effects of the weather, at least until we possess technological discoveries capable of ensuring their preservation.

PROPOSAL. The plan is to ‘bury the entire historical center of the city’, giving rise to a vast hill or a plateau. In this way, the dual purpose of preserving the current situation for a very m long time and allowing maximum freedom of construction of the city center would be achieved.
    The infilling could be carried out using the waste materials from building sites and those from urban sanitation.
    The territory thus obtained could be rationally urbanized to create the new center of the Eternal City; in a few centuries, when the circumstances become favorable, historic Rome could be brought back to light again; and excavations will provide a vast sampling of objects and testimonies of our era derived from the waste materials from urban sanitation which, as mentioned above, will contribute to forming the infill. However it is not excluded that from the beginning, limited excavations may be allowed to take place at points of particular interest, but only for scholars or specifically qualified institutions (archeological missions from major American universities, the King of Sweden, etc.) and those who commit to the conservation of artifacts.
    Considering that in Rome 9,000 cubic meters of waste are produced every day (excluding building waste, which is presumed to raise the total to 12,000 cubic meters); the surface area of the infill being 14 sq km with an average height of 60 m, therefore the volume of infill being 840 million cubic meters, it indicates that completing the infilling would take around 20 years.

NOTE. The timeline will be shortened by the natural increase
in waste production, and could be further reduced by using the waste and discharges from neighboring municipalities.

Florence

RATIONALE. It is considered that the only significant event that has occured in Florence in the last four centuries
(aside from the short-lived election as the capital) was the flood of November 4th, 1966. This event has been the only one since the grand ducal era to the present day that has drawn worldwide attention to the city with positive economic consequences (grants and donations from government, associations, and public and private institutions) as well as cultural.
    It is considered that, if subjected to simple and relatively inexpensive technical measures, buildings are better preserved and for longer when submerged rather than exposed to atmospheric agents.
    It is considered that the submerged buildings are more unlikely to be subject to disfiguring operations connected to speculative building activities (construction of penthouses, opening of new windows, demolitions, changes in volume, etc.).

PROPOSAL. The proposal is to create a ‘permanent flood in Florence with the construction of a dam at the Gonfolina (on the Arno river). The advantages of this operation would be (in addition to those mentioned above that are more properly conservative regarding the existing urban fabric):
    a) Restoring the Pliocene geological condition (it is known, in fact, and Leonardo had already guessed it, that in the Pliocene era the Arno valley was a large lake that at the end dried up due to the progressive erosion of the natural barrier of Gonfolina by the outlet). This operation, like all other operations aiming to restore a historical condition, presents itself as highly commendable in the eyes of anyone interested in culture.
    b) Creating an event capable of attracting huge masses of
tourists for the unique and unrepeatable spectacle of a great city, rich in history and art, sinking; taking into account that the filling of the reservoir will span over a considerable amount of time, thus local tourism will benefit in the long run.
    c) Transforming the area into a lakeside resort with all the associated tourist benefits; Fiesole would be turned into bathing resort, and another large bathing facility could be established at Piazzale Michelangelo; here is where the arrival station could be located for a tourist submarine service for visiting the submerged city.
    d) Exploiting the reservoir for electric energy generation like any other dam.
    Additional proposal. With appropriate measures, the most important artistic buildings could be made watertight, allowing them to be visited; entry would be from towers and bell towers that remained above water, equipped with docking piers for boats.

NOTE. With the funds raised after the flood of ’66, it was even possible to carry out ‘restorations’ of buildings that had never been constructed; for example, a part of the cloister of the church of Santa Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi was rebuilt in its original form (as it was and where it was) despite never having been built before. The hope is that the works of Leonardo and Michelangelo will be completed.

TypeScript

References

Superstudio. Superstudio Opere : 1966-1978. Edited by Gabriele Mastrigli, 2016.

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