Trasparenza, leggerezza e paesaggio: la proposta di Gismondi per la copertura della Villa del Casale a Piazza Armerina e una riflessione (amara) sull'attualità

The protective roofing of Villa del Casale at Piazza Armerina, designed by Franco Minissi in 1958, is a well recognized milestone of modern museology. The correspondence, the debate and the previous projects prove a progressive stratification of ideas, based on the contributions of architects, archaeologists and officials, within the “Consiglio Superiore delle Antichità e Belle Arti”. The discovery of an unpublished drawing, part of the Italo Gismondi’s project, confirms the idea of the roofings of the Villa as the synthesis and result of a collective research, full expression of the Italian view of restoration at that age. The recent campaign to replace the Minissi roofings, without appeal considered inadequate and obsolete, nevertheless spared the elegant cover of the triclinium. The paper wants to stimulate a new debate in favour of obtaining that at least the triclinium, the last remaining part of the Minissi’s project, be preserved in situ, especially in light of the evident gaps of the new protection system.