Soon to be published: a new book titled “Le mura di tutti”

The research project, is aimed at the publication of a monograph entitled Le mura di tutti and will begin with a study entrusted to Dott. Enrico Romiti on the walls during the eighteenth century: a topic which has received little attention in recent studies.

The volume will continue emphasizing the diverse uses the residents of Lucca made of the walls during the nineteenth century (collecting firewood, grazing animals, walking, engaging in artistic and commercial activities, as an ice factory etc. ...). This topic will be addressed by Prof. Carla Sodini.

Another largely unpublished topic, to which Prof. Carla Romby will dedicate her attention, is the problem of preservation of the structure of the walls that stood out prominently in the local debates between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, in particular the threat of a new opening in the walls in the area of Sant’Anna, which would lead to the creation of a Company for the protection of monuments of Lucca.

It will highlight the history of several monuments on the ramparts from those that were placed in succession on the bastion of San Paolino (the last one, built in 1642), where, in 1843, the statue of Charles III of Bourbon (Carlaccio) king of Spain and grandfather of Maria Luisa, previously removed from Piazza Napoleone was installed to replace the statue of the duchess. The book will next devote a section to the city walls between the two world wars and to its uses during the years of the Fascist regime (athletic games, the departure for the March on Rome, military assemblies etc ...). This section will be edited by Prof. Carla Sodini.

The volume will also have a section edited by Dr. Gioela Massagli on the deepening of the cultural and social environment of Lucca during the two Fascist decades, focusing on the reconstruction of the artistic events and exhibits that used the walls as their venue.

The book will continue with a section devoted to the more recent history of the walls and their definition in the collective imagination. Specifically, Antonio Bertini will recount their use as an air-raid shelter, the use of barracks by local artists (starting with Francesco Petroni), for exhibits, fairs and sporting events held in the postwar period, and as a children’s playground.

Ample space will be reserved for the founding of the “Villaggio del Fanciullo”, established in 1947, through the contributions of the architect Giampaolo Mattonai and other collaborators.

Dott. Arianna Adorni will analyze the walls in local stories, legends, art and literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Mario Tobino, Guglielmo Petroni, and Arrigo Benedetti, while dott. Gioela Massagli will examine the story in which, during the fifties, the art historian Eugenio Luporini firmly opposed to any invasive intervention on the walls

The graphic layout and the project's media are the responsibility of Drs. Simona Bartolomei and Leonardo Solari.

Dott. Elisabetta Ricciardi and professor Luci Fortunato will translate the texts into English and attend to the organization of initiatives linked to the form and final academic content. Dott. Graziella degli Innocenti will direct the secretarial office.