Caserma Rossani
→ The Weapon’s Square, where officials took their oath and completed training can be found in the central park area. In 1925, this area then hosted the local football team where all matches were played. In what is today a parking lot used to be the 100 Cannons Square which housed the larger pieces of artillery.
History
The St. Lawrence Barracks, named after the San Lorenzo District in Bari, are located in the historical area of the Carrassi neighbourhood. In 1939, the Barracks were dedicated to Major Mario Rossani who died during the First World War.
Originally, this military complex was set inside a series buildings and courtyards: The Command Centre, designed according to the Liberty Style of the times, housed officials; the Ettore Feltrin Building used as a theatre for cinema; The Celtic Room, where soldiers would be temporarily isolated and examined upon re-entry from leaves in order to avoid the spread of any possible disease from contact with prostitutes. →
Former Rossani Barracks: experts‘ survey
Decommissioning
The Rossani Barracks were used by the military authority until 1991 when the site was closed. At that point, and due to a fire destroying the famous Petruzzelli Theatre in Bari, considerations were made to convert the site into a cultural centre called “The City of Federico”. This idea, sadly, never managed to see the light of day and the Barracks were officially decommissioned in 1998.
In 2008, the Italian government and the City of Bari negotiated the rights to the site, awarding it to the Heritage Commission of the City of Bari. This, in turn, began the process of transforming the Rossani Barracks through a public competition, Ideas for Baricentrale. The competition was won by the architect Massimiliano Fuksas.
Rossani Committee
As the destiny of the Barracks was being contemplated, a citizens group called the Rossani Committee was formed. Its mission was to encourage the City of Bari City to promote the active involvement of the community in the recovery project especially regarding green areas. The community gardening initiative “Parco Gargasole” is a direct result of community involvement.
Moreover, in 2014, a self-managed and non-official social centre, the Athena Collective, occupied the smaller barracks “Casermetta Perrella Sorrente” within the Rossani complex. Over time, it cemented itself as a political and artistic point of reference for the community within the site. In fact, in 2018, the collective along with the Spanish artist Elìas Taño contributed the regeneration of the area adjacent to the site thanks to the creation of street art on the walls of the Barracks.
Street art painting of the Spanish artist Elías Taño on the outer wall of the Rossani Barracks
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REQUALIFICATION
While the first redevelopment of the complex dealt with the central area of the site, in 2022 the Rossani Park was inaugurated. The Park is a multi-functional three-hectare green area open to people of all ages and their dogs. It houses a fitness area, basketball courts as well as a skate park.
The requalification saw 200 trees and shrubs indigenous to Mediterranean area planted with the intent to offer its citizens a green area in a neighbourhood lacking public spaces.
The Urban Centre located in one of the buildings is a venue to promote open dialogue between citizens and representatives of the Municipality regarding large-scale City projects.
At the moment, two other projects are in progress. One is a Regional Library Hub, one of the largest in Southern Italy. The second is the new Academy of Fine Arts. Students of the Academy will be able to use and exhibit their artwork in what is today a carpark but will tomorrow become a lovely green space. Alas, the Weapons Square becomes the Arts Square.
GARGASOLE PARK
Gargasole Park was the pilot project for a larger requalification and redevelopment plan proposed by the Rossani Committee, together with citizens and associations committed to environmental issues.
Surrounded by the walls and artefacts of the old Rossani military barracks, the park has become a site for public events, learning experiences and open-air workshops. A wooded area called “The Grandparents and Grandchildren Forest” was created inside the park by planting historical trees and shrubs indigenous to Bari. This organic architecture gave way to workshops and burgeoning friendships.
A community garden project eventually became a collaboration between the Park Collective and City Hall which supported the expansion of the garden through the 2021 Creative Regeneration Measure.
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Urban center
The Bari Urban Center was developed from the requalification of one building of the old military barracks. The site sustains the city’s ongoing changes from a scientific-cultural point of view and promotes the dissemination of urban culture among citizens, encouraging their active participation in these transformations.
The main goal of the Urban Center is to promote dialogue regarding various issues and projects. Furthermore, it encourages civic participation related to urban planning, requalification and welfare, environmental sustainability, as well as strategies for the infrastructural, social and economic resilience of the city.
The Urban Center recognises how valuable the local community knowledge of the city is. As such it considers itself a platform to open dialogue among institutions, citizens and representatives of the professional, economic, socio-cultural and scientific communities.
The Academy of
Fine Arts
The project for the Academy of Fine Arts revolves around the requalification and redevelopment of the “Piazza d’Armi”, the “Weapons Square”, into a “Piazza d’Arti”, the “Arts Square”. A garden will connect the new park to the southern side of the neighbourhood. An outdoor addition to the Academy, in the shape of an arena, will be used to host art installations, shows and events open to the public.
Pre-existing buildings will be restored and repurposed for teaching environments and cultural functions. This 9,000 square metre space will house a variety of venues, including a 300-seat auditorium for drama lessons, a movie hall with terraced seats, a number of classrooms and multimedia rooms, various workshops for stagecraft, engraving, graphics, plastic decorations, carpentry workshops, anatomy drawings, sculpture, painting and fashion. All of this in addition to change rooms, new office spaces for teachers and consultants, a staff room, a meeting room, lavatories and transitional spaces.
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