Sensate esperienze. Riscrittura di un mercato nella Città Vecchia di Taranto

Every year, in summer, Mediterranean cities rediscover the sea. Season after season, Taranto city finds its memory again. The story began a long time ago and it is part of a very deep consciousness, assimilated by the entire city, which has almost vanished now. It could result as the contemporary history of this place, a Mediterranean city that suffers from amnesia. The loss of memory linked to the sea, where everything was born, probably occurred due to the settlements within the surrounding landscape, which has completely changed its conformation; the horizon on earth is not the same as before and what now remains is the Ionian Sea. What is remarkable is the wealth that this city contains, a treasure deeply tied to the Mediterranean landscape and praised by François Lenormat during his journey as an “incomparable beauty”1. The old city, called “Città Vecchia” in the Italian language, has become the perfect place to start reconstruction. However, where fisherman lived in the past, now the market is being created to host new people and new life. The architectural need, and therefore human, results in the creation of places and projects. These are necessary to allow the place to go back to the sea, to always remember the city, not only for the summer.