Ancona 1945-1955. An Incomplete Reconstruction

The period of the reconstruction, after WW2, is rightly considered a missed opportunity to restart the process of modernization and development of Italian cities, in particular historic centres, after 20 years’ dictatorship. The plans made by technicians, professionals and civil servants, highlight the need to overcome the limits of 19th-century towns and the solutions found at the beginning of the 20th century, which proved unable to understand the importance of the existing cultural heritage. The answer of administrators and politicians is somewhere else, in the attempt to substitute the retrieval of towns with new buildings in free areas (with economic speculation). The rubble of the bombings are cleared away to show efficiency, but the rebuilding of houses is blocked by bureaucracy. Surely, this scheme cannot be applied to the whole country. In Ancona the clearing of the rubble in the port and in the centre wipes away the historic memory of a rich, complex texture; the 1946 reconstruction plan proposes new solutions regarding mobility, service location beyond military ties. The political debate, instead, shows great interest in these problems and pays particular attention to suburban areas. The decisions made delay the retrieval problems, leaving the possibility to build without any restraints. In this way new building yards are opened on the hills of the Pennocchiara valley and in other suburban areas, so giving shape to the city we know nowadays.

Patrizia Mossotti, Sergio Salustri, Ancona 1945-1955. Una ricostruzione dimezzata in "STORIA E PROBLEMI CONTEMPORANEI" 65/2014, pp 101-116, DOI: 10.3280/SPC2014-065005