The modern city that we have inherited is the result of a strong idea that is the basis of its very foundation: the establishment of the urban free port, a practice that was in use since the 17th century and whose aim was to attract capital and technology and initiate a process of growth. Trieste was conceived from the beginning as a port-city – a dual identity necessary in order to launch an imperial project for an organic city.
Palazzo Carciotti is a visualisation of heroic classicism that is emphasised by enlightened urban management, which designed the 19th century town, defining a morphological identity of the whole system of the seafront, then considered a privileged spot of encounter with the city.
Under ownership of the City Council and therefore of Trieste, the building has been stripped for some time of any function or ambition, left to deteriorate and lose value, enduring numerous attempts at alienation with unsuccessful auctions, despite the fact that its strong and evocative presence could build an image perfect for every future, since it represents the basic principles of the city, a frame of reference for a collective and historical identity, a link between past and present.
The Palazzo Carciotti must therefore remain a collective patrimony, a community space where we can re-create the original significance of the city as a cultural port of innovation, which will reunite the entire urban territory in a unique project, in a process of reconstruction of the human identity starting from the recognition of the potential of the common good, tangible and intangible, representing a safeguard for the future with an emphasis on civic value.
Appeal to the community: before the irreparable happens, let us adopt Palazzo Carciotti!