03 Jul Official visit of the Ambassador of Italy to the Forum “Bratsigovo – The Stone Stream of Time”
For the third consecutive year the town of Bratsigovo hosted the international architectural forum dedicated to the immovable cultural and historical heritage “Bratsigovo – The Stone Stream of Time”, organized by the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria RK Sofia Region, Chamber of Builders in Bulgaria and Bratsigovo Municipality under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture.
Her Excellency Giuseppina Dzara extended her official welcome, support and partnership to the International Forum during her visit to the city on 28 June.
The Embassy of Italy, the Italian Cultural Institute and Confindustria Bulgaria were co-organisers of the Forum this year.
Partners in the project are also the Regional History Museum of Pazardzhik, the National Association of Municipalities, the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy and the Cultural Heritage Society – Bulgaria’s associate partner of Europa Nostra.
The official speech of the Ambassador Giuseppina Dzara: “Good day to everyone and thank you for the opportunity to participate in this interesting forum, which focuses on buildings related to education and culture, as well as on the renovation and energy efficiency of buildings with immovable cultural heritage status, a topic that is a continuation of an initiative started two years ago.
First of all I would like to thank the Regional Governor of Pazardzhik Mr. Velichkov, the Mayor of Bratsigovo Mrs. Kazakova, Mr. Julian Mollov, representative of the Ministry of Regional Development, the Director of Confindustria Bulgaria Mrs. Nenova, the President of the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria Arch. Borislav Vladimirov, President of the Chamber of Builders in Bulgaria, Eng. Ilian Terziev, as well as the Regional History Museum Pazardzhik, the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, the Cultural Heritage Society and the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria. Special thanks to arch. Desislava Dimitrova from the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria, which is the main organizer of the event.
It is a great honour and privilege for me to visit this city, famous for its master builders , some of whom also worked in Italy at the end of the 18th century, where thanks to the initiative of the Chamber of Architects and the Chamber of Builders in Bulgaria, an International Centre for Architectural and Building Restoration will be established.
Why is Italy a major player in this sector?
The answer is obvious: we have 60% of the world’s cultural heritage, just think that Italy is first on the UNESCO World Heritage List with 58 sites registered as World Heritage Sites.
Over time we have learned how to protect and value them, sometimes due to catastrophic natural events, disasters, dramatic historical events and human errors.
The heart of Italy’s cultural heritage consists of a set of historic buildings that enrich our country.
It is essential to protect them in a wise and respectful way, through sensitive restoration and reconstruction interventions.
These activities are not just about aesthetic restoration, but also about improving the quality of the urban landscape in which the buildings are located, thereby contributing to the well-being of life there.
The energy efficiency incentives also aim to reduce the consumption of energy sources, reduce the use of solid fuels and therefore contribute to the European Union’s decarbonisation objective.
And here I would like to stress that this is not a new topic for Italy.
In fact, in Italy, the first energy efficiency regulations date back to 1976 and, since then, our country has never stopped working on this topic.
In this context, I would like to thank our special guest, the CasaClima Agency, the internationally recognised Italian organisation for certifying the environmental sustainability of buildings and Italian excellence in zero-impact construction, for their constant and valuable contribution.
In 2013, the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Cultural Activities and Tourism issued Guidelines for Improving Energy Efficiency in Cultural Heritage, which are now an integral part of the 2004 Heritage and Landscape Code. They provide guidelines for assessing and improving the energy efficiency of protected cultural heritage while addressing the “sensitive implications of efficient energy use”.
This forum is another important opportunity to compare institutional models and exchange good practices and innovative measures for the preservation of cultural heritage.
I am sure that at the end of this event, the preservation of our cultural heritage will be able to be seen from a new perspective, combining the best experiences of our two wonderful countries, both rich in history and culture.
Once again, thank you all for being here with us and I wish you every success at the Forum!”
At the entrance of the Community Centre “Vasil Petleshkov” Her Excellency was greeted by an exposition of stone sculptures made in the stonemason’s school of Cunino, one of which was a bust of Dante Alighieri in honour of this year’s partnership with Italy.
During her official visit she was welcomed by the Regional Governor of Pazardzhik Trendafil Velichkov, the Mayor of Bratsigovo Mrs. Nadezhda Kazakova, Julian Mollov from the Ministry of Regional Development, the President of the CAB Arch. Desislava Dimitrova – main organizer of the Forum, arch. Sabin Popov – Chairman of CAB RK Burgas, Director of Confindustria Bulgaria Mrs. Mila Nenova, Eng. Lyubka Deneva and Martina Krasteva from the Chamber of Builders in Bulgaria.
As a special gift of gratitude to the Ambassador of Italy for the successful cooperation and continued partnership, the organizers prepared two books – “The Master Builders of Bratzig” and an album dedicated to Kolyo Ficheto.
Her Excellency viewed the three exhibitions that were displayed within the Forum, two of which were Italian – one dedicated to “Good examples from Europe for energy efficiency of historic buildings”, the other “Contemporary Italian Art”, and the third was created by Arch.
Belin Mollov especially for the event in Bratsigovo and dedicated to the theme “Architecture for Education and Culture”.
Six experts from Italy were guest speakers at the Forum this year – Dr. Arch.
Andrea Griletto – Director of the Association of Restorers in Italy, Arch.
Ilaria Brauer and Arch.
Damiano Chiarini – representatives of CasaClima Agency, Arch.
Wolfgang von Klebelsberg of the Politecnico di Milano, Arch.
Alexandra Troy and Eng. Marco Larker from EURAC RESEARCH.
As a result of the discussions of all the officials and guests, the Italian Ambassador highly appreciated the objectives and the organization of the Forum and the foundations were laid for more joint initiatives on the real cultural heritage, both within this year and in the long term.
According to Her Excellency, the theme of the preservation of cultural heritage is extremely important and she would support the next event dedicated to UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which is planned to take place by the end of the year.
