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From faith to prison: a place of transformationThe complex of the Convent of San Vito, built in 1432 by order of Blessed Matteo Cimarra and financed by the Senate of Agrigento, represents one of the original nuclei of the former prison structure. Originally located in the wooded Rupe Atenea, a few steps from the medieval walls of Girgenti, the convent was conceived as a place of devotion and spiritual welcome. In 1863, with the suppression of religious orders and the transfer of their assets to the State, the friars were forced to give up the convent which was transformed into a prison, and remained so until 1996 when the inmates were transferred to the modern Di Lorenzo prison |
Abandonment and rebirthClosed in 1996, the former prison of San Vito has become an often inaccessible place, whose historical and spiritual functions have fallen into oblivion. In the following years, awareness campaigns and preliminary studies have been launched - such as those promoted by the University of Palermo - to hypothesize a compatible restoration capable of returning this place full of history to the community. Today the site emerges as a silent monument but full of meaning, a symbol of the architectural, social and cultural stratifications of Agrigento. The recovery project that the Farm - to which the State Property Agency has entrusted the prison for three years - is carrying out with the support of the Polytechnic of Milan, will be the opportunity to give new life to a heritage of the community, where tangible traces of urban memory and identity can be read. |
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