Maredolce-La Favara
exhibition of documents and images
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The exhibition dedicated to the 26th edition of the International Carlo Scarpa Garden Prize starts by presenting essential materials that make it possible to understand the aims and organisation of the Carlo Scarpa Prize. A first section describes the historic-geographic context of the designated site, as well as its place within the general framework of the urban evolution of the city of Palermo and its landscape.
A second section deals more specifically with the landscape of the Palermo plain, highlighting the fundamental features of the geographical area historically called Conca d’Oro, Valley of Gold, which developed characteristics that are closely connected with those of the Maredolce-La Favara area. The section deals with the topic of water — namely that of the springs that give life to these landscapes — as well as agriculture and gardens, connected with the Arab and Normand culture.
The third section explores the theme of the contemporary landscape and its transformations, viewed through the relations between Maredolce and Brancaccio, the district it belongs to, highlighting the history of a place whose recognisability has disappeared in recent times due to the construction of illegal buildings and a motorway crossing it, as well as the marked separation carried out between the farming plot system and the neighbourhood. The relationship between urban transformations and citrus farming as the distinctive feature of the modern Palermitan landscape is also featured in this section thanks to a selection of Istituto Luce-Cinecittà documentaries.
The fourth section illustrates the history of Maredolce and its fundamental features: the water system that gave rise to the pond, the citrus groves and the current condition of the open spaces, the palace described from an architectural viewpoint, the recent archaeological excavations and the restoration campaigns that have unearthed a good portion of the Arab-Normand age structures.
The final section provides a space to watch the documentary film Maredolce-La Favara, written and directed by Davide Gambino for Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche on the occasion of the 26th edition of the Prize.
