Story by Anthony Savvides
A newly redesigned airport was unveiled in Perugia over the weekend, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a memorial service for Gae Aulenti, the architect behind the project. Unfortunately, Aulenti passed away in Milan on October 31 after a long illness, and thus she was not able to see her latest project’s launch. She would have been 85 next month.
A plethora of prominent figures were among the crowd at the ribbon cutting ceremony in honor of Aulenti: Catiuscia Marini, the president of Umbria; former governor Maria Rita Lorenzetti; regional counselors Rometti, Bracco and Vinti; parliament members Ada Urbani, Marina Sereni and Rutelli; mayors Wladimiro Boccali and Claudio Ricci. Others in attendance at the ceremony included: high-ranking military members; Nando Mismetti and Daniele Benedetti, first citizens of Foligno and Spoleto; Guasticchi, the president of the province of Perugia; Nicola Alberto Barone, coordinator of “unità tecnica di missione”; Father Giuseppe Piemontese, guardian of the sacred convent of Assisi; and Mario Fagotti, the president of Sase, the company that operates the airport.
Alessio Quaranta, managing director of Enac, opened the event with a fitting tribute to the late architect as screens on either side of the stage displayed an interview with Aulenti from years ago. In the interview clip, Aulenti spoke about the milestones of the building of the Basilica of St. Francis, including the decisions as to which materials and colors should have been used. Aulenti’s daughter, Giovanna, was present, and she received a warm round of applause after the interview clip.
After the memorial service, the new airport was formally introduced to the attendees. The roof is made of copper, which has been oxidized so that it doesn’t stand out and distract from the green landscape. The eight halls of the building, made of almost 5,000 square meters of concrete, have been painted red. Other features of the revamped airport include a café, a waiting room, an exhibition hall and a conference area, as well as a restaurant and office space. Located in the center of the airport is a shopping area sure to be a big draw for tourists arriving in Perugia and others waiting to depart. The exterior of the facility is home to a parking lot with space for up to 2,000 vehicles, and it is neatly landscaped with olive trees.
Renovation work on the airport totaled almost 43 million euro, with 27 million euro coming from the presidency of the council of ministers, 12 million euro allocated by the region of Umbria and three and a half million euro from Sase. The new and improved airport has been fully functioning for a few months now, and authorities hope that it will be a draw for tourists from all over Europe. The region of Umbria’s aim is to expand the amount of destinations out of Perugia-Assisi, with flights to London, Brussels, Bergamo, Barcelona, Palma, Ibiza, Olbia, Cagliari, Trapani, Rhodes, Crete, Paphos and Sharm el Sheikh.
As a regional airport, Perugia-Assisi is nowhere near the size of Roma Fiumicino, but it is considered “a gateway to the world and the world to St. Francis' Umbria.” Vito Riggio, president of Enac, said that as a regional airport, Perugia-Assisi will need boundaries consistent with the size of the Umbrian region, but notes that there is room for growth, citing Perugia-Assisi as a major destination for people from Germany, the United Kingdom and northern Europe.
Perugia and Assisi, as well the rest of the cities in Umbria, are ideal places for religious and agro tourism. The airport is extraordinary strategic for Umbria, but also for the national air transportation system, said Governor Catiuscia Marini as she concluded the opening ceremony. After singing the praises of Aulenti's work, Marine refocused the ceremony on the famed architect, lamenting that she could not witness the fruits of her labor and be present during the airport's opening. Marini also praised Aulenti, saying that her work does not distract from the picturesque area surrounding it and displays Aulenti's care and resprect for the environment and natural beauty of the region.
Now that the airport has been redesigned and is working at full capacity, Sase is left with a difficult task: figure out how to make more connections with airlines to contribute to the growth of Umbria’s tourism sector. A big push will be made by regional leadership, including mayors and governors, to draw attention to the region as Perugia and Assisi aim to become the European Cultural Capital Cities in 2019.
