(10 March 2016) The “Escuelas de Arte de Cubanacan” were set up in Havana by Fidel Castro and Ernesto Che Guevara to encourage the teaching and dissemination of the arts among young Cubans. Now, the University of Florence could play a fundamental role in their recovery. The complex – built with the technique of Catalan vaults – was left partially unfinished, and is now in a state of decay, even making the list of historical monuments at risk of collapse of World Monument Fund (WMF). For this reason, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has approved, in the preliminary phase, a cooperation project between Cuba and Italy, set up with the collaboration of Michele Paradiso – Associate in Construction Science at the University of Florence, for the revival of the first of the five schools: the School of Theatre designed by the Italian Roberto Gottardi. The project – explains in a statement the University of Florence – will require funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is articulated in a series of proposals.” “We expect – explains Paradiso – to restore the buildings and also hold a number of training courses with Italian experts on the topic of restoration and consolidation. But we also want to establish a documentation center on the history of Las Escuelas de Arte, a laboratory for structural tests on scale models, a laboratory for conservation and restoration of documents relating to the history of the schools, as well as the establishment of an executive team from the School Management Centre, so as to build a partnership network for the internationalization of the schools and their teaching offer. For this cooperation project, the University will be able to provide specific skills from its different departments”. (Red)
