European Week of Regions and Cities 2018 Workshop Cultural and creative cities for all The restoration and opening to the public of Casa Macchi in Morazzone: a virtuous example of regeneration of a small town through the enhancement of a cultural asset 11/10/2018 - Brussels
The village of Morazzone and the role of FAI Morazzone Village of 4,400 inhabitants, located in Lombardy, 6 km from Varese and 60 km from Milan. It owes its name to Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli, known as Il Morazzone, an important painter of the seventeenth-century who was born here. The fulcrum of the historical center is the Church dedicated to S. Ambrogio, built between 1814 and 1817. The interior preserves a fresco attributed to by Morazzone or his school. The historical center is today characterized by limited commercial and cultural activities. FAI Fondo Ambiente Italiano FAI - Fondo Ambiente Italiano is a national not-for-profit foundation that was set up in 1975 with the objective to save, restore and open to the public numerous fine examples of Italy's artistic and natural heritage. Nowadays, FAI manages 61 properties, 30 of which are open to the public, visited by 700 thousand people a year. FAI properties are widespread throughout the Country with a particular concentration in Lombardy. 2
Casa Macchi is an elegant nineteenth-century dwelling, built on a seventeenth-century plant, with a portico, turret, courtyard, garden and surrounding land, located in Piazza S. Ambrogio, the heart of the historical center. It represents an intact testimony of a house of the Lombard bourgeoisie of the second half of the nineteenth century, fully furnished with a rich repertoire of fabrics, photographs, paintings, clothes and objects, able to tell the life of a precise period of Italian history and living. It comes to FAI in 2015, thanks to the generosity of Miss Macchi, who leaves as an inheritance her house together with furniture, paintings and silverware so that it can become "a living museum that gives luster to Morazzone ". 3
In the shadow of the S.Ambrogio Church bell tower 4
there is a charming nineteenth-century building 5
able to welcome a guest as if he were at home 6
because preserved in its smallest details. 7
The house still smells of everyday life, 8
so much so that it is still able to return 9
the sense of the authentic life of a dwelling 10
and generate curiosity and empathy in the visitor, 11
who belongs to its own tradition, especially if Lombard. 12
An extraordinary deposit of small things, 13
ordinary but curious. 14
To bring back life in this house 15
we must intervene immediately. 16
The value of networking and of institutional cooperation The objective, shared between the Municipality of Morazzone and FAI, is: to restore Casa Macchi; to turn it into a House Museum open to the public; to promote the regeneration of the town that can find in this recovery a unique and important occasion of development. To achieve this goal, the Municipality of Morazzone has promoted a Framework Agreement for the implementation of interventions of urban regeneration and revitalization of the historic center of Morazzone (VA), with the restoration of Casa Macchi for public fruition. The Lombardy Region, in accordance with its objectives of promoting sustainable development and of enhancing the value of historical and cultural assets, has adhered to the Framework Agreement, guaranteeing substantial cofinancing. 17
The Framework Agreement The Framework Agreement between the Lombardy Region, the Municipality of Morazzone and FAI has been signed on May 4, 2017. The Agreement, from the total value of 4 Mln Euros, includes: interventions for the regeneration of the historic center of Morazzone; restoration, functional adaptation and cultural valorization of Casa Macchi. Sources of financing: Lombardy Region FAI Municipality of Morazzone 18
The Framework Agreement Morazzone historical center Interventions for the regeneration of the historical center of Morazzone Infrastructure upgrading and new road system Creation of new multifunctional public spaces in the library square New parking area for the historic center Renovation of significant portions of the historic center with the replacement of the paving, the creation of new pedestrian areas, the renewal of the public lighting system. 19
The Framework Agreement Morazzone historical center Piazza S. Ambrogio Casa Macchi 1. New traffic regulation 2. New library square 3. Parking area 20
The Framework Agreement the restoration of Casa Macchi Restoration, functional adaptation and cultural valorization of Casa Macchi as a house museum inserted in the circuit of the Lombard Museum Houses Conservative restoration of the House, of the furnishings, of the collections and of the private garden, safeguarding the charm of a place out of time" and the intimately domestic and family atmosphere. Adaptation of the structures and installations of the building to the new museum destination, endowing it with technological systems capable of ensuring comfort conditions for visitors and the protection of furnishings and collections. Realization of reception services for the public and of spaces designed to guarantee a complete and pleasant visit experience with tools and installations able to enhance the cultural contents of the house. Integration of museum spaces with activities and functions compatible with the vocation of the place and able to economically support the costs of management and maintenance (guesthouse for tourists, shop serving the local community). 21
The activities carried out to date by FAI cataloging of furnishings securing the premises project development dismantling before the restoration 22