The first shipment arrived from Basilicata. From Matera to Warsaw and back in two days, to bring materials and equipment that will be needed in Ukraine in order to guarantee the safety of the works of art. The request for help came from Marco Gallipoli, an Italian who lives in Lviv, a city whose historic center has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1998. The material started, as for an ideal twinning, right from Matera, a city that in 2019 was the European capital of culture.
Is called Save Ukraine Art 2022 project and was launched by Marco Gallipoli and by his Ukrainian companion Ustyna Soroka. The couple, who lives and has remained in Lviv after sending their two young children to a safe country, has activated a project to secure Ukraine's works of art. Project that was shared by the heads of the main Ukrainian cultural institutions. Starting with Taras Wozniack, director of the National Gallery of Arts in Lviv and coordinator of a network of museums.
The cry for help from Ukraine, where "cartons of fruit and bananas are being used to protect works of art"
I'm still in everyone's eyessymbolic image of Christ the Savior that was in the Armenian cathedral of Lviv and that after the outbreak of the war was closed in a container and placed in the basement. As well as the images of the sculptures wrapped in fireproof materials and packed in bags to resist any explosions. But that's not enough. To preserve works of art from destruction, explains Taras Wozniack, "We need the moisture and fire resistant packaging materials as well as dehumidifiers and humidifiers to maintain proper temperature and humidity while moving items".
Save Ukraine Art 2022 has found the support of important Italian museums, starting with the Civic Museums of Venice. And of a project team in Italy (managers, entrepreneurs, industry experts) who collaborate closely with the promoters of the initiative in Ukraine. To plan and speed up mailings in a situation that becomes more difficult every day. Today the materials available to protect works of art in Ukraine are very few and unsuitable for the purpose. "We are using cartons of fruit, bananas”They say from Ukraine. You do what you can with what you have, but you need something else. Starting with equipment for filing, photographing, filing. This is why Save Ukraine Art 2022 was born. With a website, https://saveukraineart22.org/, continuously work in progress and where the materials and equipment needed, contacts, reference places and many other information are already indicated.
The precious UNESCO sites that the war has endangered
Saving works of art also means preserving the future, this is the conviction of those who launched the project. Why theart and culture are one of the fundamental components of a nation's identity and pride. There are numerous UNESCO sites in Ukraine. In addition to historical center of Lviv which UNESCO has elected as a World Heritage Site "for the excellent example of the fusion of architectural and artistic traditions of Eastern Europe with those of Italy and Germany”, Are also UNESCO sites there Saint Sophia Cathedral and the Pechersk Lavra Monastery in Kiev. It is a UNESCO site, in Central Europe Chernivtsi in southwestern Ukraine, the large university complex former residence of the Metropolitans of Bucovina and Dalmatia.
Also included among the World Heritage Sites Primeval beech forests in the Carpathians, a great natural attraction between the territories of Ukraine and Slovakia. They are located between the Rachiv and Chornohirskyi mountains. The certified sites also include the'Geodetic Arch of Struve which in Ukraine has four points. It is a chain of points that goes from Norway to the Black Sea and which serves to determine the exact shapes and sizes of the land in that area. Other sites in Ukraine are awaiting certification. Among these, also the Genoese ports in the much discussed Crimea today. The historic port center of Odessa which has so much of Italian architecture. The ruins of the ancient city of Cherson, today one of the most disputed and dramatic war scenarios.
(photo credits: saveukraineart22.org site)
