The reconstruction

In Sardinia, the operations of the Second World War effectively ended with the armistice of September 8, 1943 and with the passage of German troops to Corsica. The arrival of the Allies (around mid-September 1943) and the appointment in January 1944 of General Pietro Pinna as High Commissioner for Sardinia, marked a clear gap compared to the pre-war period.

The bombings that hit the island between November 1942 and May 1943, affecting not only military but also civilian objectives, caused extensive damage to entire neighborhoods of the main cities (Cagliari, Alghero, Olbia, Sant'Antioco, Arbatax, Porto Torres) and to various locations in the interior.

The situation was made even more dramatic by the lack of connections with the rest of the country and by the shortage of materials and labor.
Although the war continued in the rest of Italy until April 1945, the time had come on the island for a reflection on the rebirth linked to the desire to start over.

A first sign of this new spirit was the inauguration, in August 1944 in Cagliari, of an outdoor entertainment venue, the “Cinegiardino”.
The debate, at first of an exclusively theoretical nature (due to lack of resources), then also and above all practical, focused on the need to give priority to investments in the construction of public works, understood as capital goods, rather than in that of housing, considered instead a consumer good.

The issue was addressed for the first time in an organic way, with regard to the entire nation, in 1948, when the magazine 'Modern Building' published a monographic issue 'dedicated to a regional survey on reconstruction'. With the contribution of various architects and engineers, the situation was taken stock, analyzing the problems of building recovery, aggravated by a disastrous economic situation, as well as by the continuation of social imbalances, even more relevant to the perceived need for an improvement in life.

Specifically of Sardinia, and Cagliari in particular, these problems were recalled by the architect Salvatore Rattu, who entered into the merits of a hasty and almost totally negative reconstruction, affirming the need to make the most of the opportunity offered by the damage suffered to establish a new road network and to create a new city that meets the needs of modern life.

Update

20/9/2023 - 11:42