On May 12 1976, fifteen intellectuals protested
against the large-scale demolition of buildings authorised during the initial
emergency. They signed and published a manifesto on the front page of the «Corriere
del Friuli» newspaper, calling for the protection of the «human,
historical, cultural and artistic heritage» of the Region. Given the recent
memory of the Vajont dam tragedy and the Belìce earthquake, the text appealed
to professionals, including architects, engineers, surveyors and building
experts, to «reject trends and interventions that are alien to our society and
to collaborate with the local population to restore Friuli to its original
appearance, respecting its unique urban and architectural identity».
The authorities were not exempt from the petition,
which urged them to reject indiscriminate demolition and dispersal of materials
that could be used to restore damaged buildings and monuments. They were
encouraged to protect and preserve the historical, artistic and architectural
patrimony, as these were considered vital elements of the cultural fabric of
the communities across Friuli.
Another intellectual who took a stand was Stanislao
Nievo, a writer and the great-grandson of Ippolito Nievo. Between late May and
early June 1976, he wrote to the press, particularly the magazine «Friuli
nel Mondo», encouraging Italian and foreign cities to “adopt”
earthquake-stricken villages through Fogolârs Furlans associations.
Recognising the risk of a lack of coordination between the various forms of
assistance, Nievo emphasised the importance of channelling aid from an ‘adopting
city’ to a single Municipality, in addition to state and regional planning
initiatives already in place. «Let everyone participate in the reconstruction
of Friuli» he wrote, «let them know where their aid and money will go, and to
whom. Then the much-feared loss of interest will not occur, or at least it will
be reduced. Knowing exactly who you are donating to stimulates donation». The
idea was good, but difficult to implement.
Art galleries also responded immediately, organising
sales and auctions throughout Italy to raise funds for earthquake victims by
selling works often donated by the artists themselves. The Finarte auction
house, for instance, organised an evening sale on Thursday May 20, at 9 p.m. in
Piazzetta Bossi, Milan. The event was advertised in the «Corriere
d'Informazione» newspaper with an announcement titled Even artists
support Friuli.
One of the most significant initiatives was launched
in New York and sponsored by Maria Laura Vinci, the wife of the Italian
ambassador to the United Nations at the time. It was promoted by minimalist
sculptor Carl Andre and New York Times critic Thomas Bear Hess, who
founded Friuli Art and Monuments (FRIAM). The main goal was to donate a
collection of contemporary American art to the city of Udine. Twenty per cent
of the collection would be housed in the Municipal Art Gallery, while the remaining
eighty per cent would be sold to fund the restoration and renovation of
monuments, including the Church of San Francesco in Cividale del Friuli.
Notable artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Sol LeWitt, Willem de Kooning, Frank
Stella, Donald Judd, Robert Mangold and Andre himself donated their works,
totalling 114 pieces.
The works were exhibited from August 11 to 27 1976, in
an exhibition titled Project Rebuild: An Exhibition to Aid
Earthquake-Damaged Udine, held at the Grey Gallery and Study Centre in New
York. The works then arrived at the American Academy in Rome on October 6 1977,
before finally reaching Udine the following summer. Even before the works
crossed the Italian border, Aldo Rizzi, the director of the Civic Museums of
Udine, and Angelo Candolini, the mayor, wondered whether it would be better to
keep the collection together without breaking it up. Rizzi argued that «the
collection from the United States is not only a symbol of friendship, but also
an authentic spiritual treasure and a piece of cultural heritage that should be
valued, and not monetised, in order to counterbalance the losses. […] Indeed,
it would have been a shame […] to miss the opportunity to create such a truly
stimulating and valuable museum with these works of art». Similarly, Candolini
thought it «would be a mistake to disperse a collection that was even more
valuable in its context». Despite the risk «of criticism for “taking advantage”
of the opportunity or prioritising American art at such a tragic moment», the
counter-proposal from Udine was accepted by the American organisers and
artists. Knowing that the works would be exhibited to the public rather than
sold, some of these artists replaced the pieces they had previously donated
with more significant ones.
Once the change in direction had been agreed upon, the
local authorities started considering where to display the American donation.
The works remained in storage for many months. Given that the castle had been
damaged by the earthquake, proposals included the Palamostre Theatre in the
centre of Udine, which at the time had not yet been used for exhibition, and
the extensive Villa Manin in Passariano, twenty kilometres from the provincial
capital. The exhibition of works was finally installed in the Sala Ajace of
Udine Town Hall from September 20 to November 16 1980, under the title Contemporary
American Art. Described by the mayor as a «fitting tribute to the donors
and the American people in general, who were particularly supportive of Friuli
during the devastating earthquake», the exhibition was a great success with the
public, but it did not resolve the issue of where to house the collection. Only
recently has part of the collection been given a permanent home on the second
floor of Casa Cavazzini, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Udine.
Another important initiative that demonstrated
solidarity with the communities affected by the disaster was the exhibition
titled Friuli. Memory, Participation and Reconstruction, promoted by the
Municipality of Venice in August and September 1976. Set within the framework
of the Venice Biennale, the project took the form of a series of cultural
events, exhibitions and seminars. According to the mayor of Venice, Mario Rigo,
and the councillor for culture, Stefano Zecchi, the aim was to «participate,
not only emotionally, in the solidarity of the initial response to the tragedy
in Friuli, but also to participate in its reconstruction».
The Bevilacqua La Masa Gallery hosted an exhibition of
documentaries titled Before and After the Earthquake. The showcase
featured an audiovisual programme on the damaged areas, as well as several
works of art from Friuli and photographs taken by a group of students from the
Faculty of Urban Planning at the Venice University Institute of Architecture
(IUAV) during two trips to Venzone: one before and one after the earthquake in
May. «We have presented the face of Friuli», explained Romano Perusini, a
painter from Udine and one of the many Friulians involved in the project in
Venice, along with photographer Italo Zannier, «and then we need to get to the
heart of its problems. We need to know what will happen to Venzone, what will
happen to Gemona, what will happen to all of Friuli».
To complement the exhibition, architect Nani Valle
from Udine designed an impressive installation in St Mark's Square. This
consisted of a tubular metal structure with giant posters displaying
explanatory texts and images of the disaster. Alongside various cultural
debates on reconstruction issues, Pier Paolo Pasolini's play I Turcs tal
Friùl premiered on November 13 1976, in the Church of San Lorenzo in
Venice, in collaboration with La Fenice Opera House and the Piccolo Teatro
della Città di Udine performing arts centre. Luigi Nono wrote the music
for the play expressly for this production, and Luciano Ceschia designed the
set.
Many other spontaneously organised initiatives were
held to raise funds: concerts in various cities across Italy and a variety of
cultural events. Gisella Pagano recorded the LP Mandi Friûl, featuring
traditional Friulian songs, with the proceeds going to some of the communities
that had suffered the most damage.
One of the many examples of solidarity that enlivened
the local context was the community involvement of the Giovanni Sello Art
Institute, which, despite the closure of schools ordered by the Department of
Education of Udine, remained open after May 6, providing a place of refuge and
support for students and their families living in areas affected by the
disaster. On the recommendation of the teaching staff, the various classes at
the Institute were involved in alternative and interdisciplinary educational experiences,
which developed along two lines. The first involved the creation of over 2,000
road and emergency signs for the tent cities, in collaboration with the
Prefecture of Udine. The second project was supported by the Villa Manin
Catalogue Centre, which is now the Regional Agency for Cultural Heritage of
Friuli Venezia Giulia (Ente Regionale per il Patrimonio Culturale FVG - ERPAC).
It saw teams of volunteer students and teachers travelling to Municipalities
affected by the earthquake to take photographs of the damage to buildings. The
approximately 10,000 images taken were then developed and printed on paper in
the laboratory at the school. During the summer months, other students set up a
photographic studio in the Church of San Francesco in Udine to catalogue works
of art removed from churches or sites at risk of collapse.
Two aspects were common to the cultural initiatives
that followed the earthquake. Firstly, there was an urgent need to address the
loss of artworks, which were often stolen or beyond repair. Similarly, it was
important to ensure that the reconstruction took the architectural, artistic,
and cultural heritage of the territory into account. Against this backdrop of
widespread solidarity, there was a strong sense of concern that the local
heritage would be lost to the world.