La situazione attuale: valori e criticità

Despite the considerable expansion and some alterations in the historic area, the original structure of the cemetery is now recognizable and shows features of undoubted interest. Both the older tombs and the various constructions that took place between the end of the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century enriched the place with different architectures (single chapels or buildings for collective burials), representative of periods and significant events for the history of the city. In addition to the individual artefacts, the place itself has multiple meanings and reasons of interest - hence the need to be preserved. From a conceptual point of view, the substantial difference between the historical area and the recent one consists precisely in the poor perception of the 'monumentality' of the place; as long as the Cemetery is seen only for its practical function, the attendance of the place and the actions on it will be limited to this partial vision. Consequently, the prevalence of functional motivations will prevent the understanding of other values and opportunities (indicated here). On the contrary, attributing the monumental value without prior recognition and identification of the multiple values of the place risks disfiguring it, transforming it into an object 'to be exhibited' estranged from history and from the meanings it represents. A Conservation Plan is needed which provides Guidelines for the protection and management of a complex place of historical and monumental interest. The analysis of the state of conservation highlights several critical issues, both as regards the site, and for the specific problems of some buildings and artefacts (static instability, degradation of materials, local functional inefficiencies). But above all, it is essential to observe the place with the awareness that the signs of time are an integral part of its meaning and its multiple values. Any action that intends to remove the effects of time is already inopportune in its intentions, irremediably harmful in its outcome.