Interpreting the matter of constant transition for the different actors inhabiting Lampedusa (Italy) and gathering their common needs together with what the island is lacking.
“Sleep, dear Chevalley, the Sicilians
want Sleep and they always hate
the one who wants to wake them,
even if he would bring them
the most beautiful presents; the
Sicilians never want to improve for
the simple reason that they think
themselves perfect; their vanity is
stronger than their misery; every
invasion by outsiders, whether
so by origin or, if Sicilian, by
independence of spirit, upsets their
illusion of achieved perfection, risks
disturbing their satisfied waiting for
nothing”
da “Il Gattopardo” , Tomasi di Lampedusa
The island of Lampedusa has for many years seen a constant flow of newcomers and tourists, staying only for a short period of time and then leaving. This has brought significant changes to the Lampedusian society that is slowly abandoning local traditions and methods in order to prioritize tourism. Through the creation of a meeting space, the project aims to exploit the big flow of people in a positive way to create different opportunities among the people inhabiting the island.
The project aims to fill up what the Island and its people are lacking and, at the same time, have a symbolic value as landmark and memory of what Lampedusa has been going through in the last years.
My reaction to the reality of this small Mediterranean Island, full of contradictions and potential, is a “bridge building” which wants to connect the main town street to the sea and be a clear response to the actual stillness of the government and local authorities in front of the current situation.
Papers: I’m migrant di Luca Negrini
