Did the theft of works of art (aka “Napoleonic dispossession”) by the French army in the subdued Europe – from 1797 to the Congress of Vienna (1815) – destroy the cultural heritage?
On Thursday 9 at 5 pm the architect Gianni Cellè is expected at the Cultural Hub of Marengo at the talk “Once upon a time there was the cathedral” conducted by the director Massimo Taggiasco (Alessandria24).
Cellè’s experience will guide the audience to the ancient cathedral of San Pietro erected (1170) on the ground of Piazza Libertà (Alessandria) and then demolished (1803) to fulfill Napoleon’s will and to clear Piazza d’Armi to raise the city to the primary military fortress of northern Italy.
The critical vox populi triggered by the destroyed community emblem was soothed by the neglect suffered by the medieval structure already restored and the constraint to build the new cathedral.
The meeting is combined with the “Thursday at Marengo” calendar, promoted by the Province of Alexandria together with the Cathedra Alexandriae and Ujce (Union of European Journalists and Communicators).