N°1 | 2022 A HERITAGE IN THE URBAN LANDSCAPES OF SICILY – Part Two

LIGHTING ARTEFACTS

In the first part of this monograph (no. 2, 2021), we illustrated the range of cast iron artefacts for public lighting still present in Sicily and produced there during the second half of the 19th century or the early decades of the 20th. Our census, extended to the entire regional territory, revealed a large number of lampposts and candelabra, of various dimensions and with a wide array of decorations.

This second part is dedicated to the typologies of artefacts produced in other regions of Italy and to those imported from abroad, many of which marked the transition from gas to electrical energy. A very important chapter documents “lost typologies”, those that time has erased and to which our only witnesses are period postcards.

In the last part, we present a detailed profile of the great Palermo-based architect Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda and the troubled history, which has fortunately had a happy end, of 18 high quality lanterns in Sulmona.

 

INDEX

A heritage in the urban landscapes of Sicily. Lighting Artefacts

Lampposts imported from other Italian regions

Typologies imported from abroad

The lights of Siracusa

Vanished typologies

From cast iron to steel by way of cement. The urban landscape is transformed

A prospect for the Future

Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda, architect and civil engineer

The distribution of cast iron lampposts over the territory

 

The old lighting on the steps of Sulmona. To be replaced or renovated?