In Limbo
by Mimi Mollica
portfolio special mention call 'URBANAUTICA INSTITUTE AWARDS 2020', 2020
Category: Representations of Space, Architecture, and Conflicts
In Limbo explores the aesthetics of emptiness that pervades post-earthquake architecture in the villages along the Belice valley and the dynamics of a social fabric weakened by an alienating context where the individual seems sucked into the concrete that surrounds him.
A feeling of disturbing tension pervades the desolate streets of many towns in western Sicily. The devastating earthquake of 1968 caused thousands of deaths and razed many rural villages in Belice to the ground.
Even today, many towns remain almost empty, while new cities' built several kilometers away from the original sites, were conceived without adequate socio-economic planning for the rebirth of this region.
The delays in recovery and the power intrigues between corrupt politicians and local businessmen have exacerbated already poor economic conditions, prompting the population to emigrate abroad. This picture represents an eloquent sign of a history that involves Sicily burdened by the underworld and entrepreneurial opportunism encouraged by too frequently corrupt management of politics.