Ercolano. Programme of initiatives between site and city and project 'Via Mare'

On Thursday 4 July 2019, at 11,30:2014 am at the Antiquarium of the Ercolano Archaeological Park, the implementing agreement between the Ercolano Archaeological Park, the Municipality of Ercolano and the Packard Institute for Cultural Heritage will be signed, the last stage of the process born in XNUMX with the Via Mare Agreement, for the redevelopment of the neighborhood overlooking the UNESCO site.
This is a particularly important signature, as it allows the concession of the areas, expropriated by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage in 2015, to the Municipality of Ercolano for the construction of the works. With the delivery of the works, the last piece of a complex mosaic is composed that will bring the long-awaited urban, cultural and social change along the borders of the two Ercolano, ancient and modern. The project was born from the collaboration between the Municipality, the Park (made autonomous from Pompeii in 2016) and the American philanthropic foundation the Packard Humanities Institute which, through its Italian arm and other partners, has supported the public manager (Park) in the care of the site since 2001,
Along Via Mare, the demolition of the border wall and the opening of a green space managed respectively by the Municipality of Ercolano and the Archaeological Park are planned. All this in the heart of the historic center, in a place overlooking the archaeological site and at the gates of the underground ancient Theater, recently reopened to the public and a few meters from the picturesque Pugliano market, a place where, starting from the post-war period, a trade based on the reuse of clothing flourished. A revolution that will potentially change all the dynamics of use of this neighborhood, from tourist flows to the habits of residents, and that, with the implementation of new cultural and social initiatives over time, will remove Via Mare from isolation, returning to this neighborhood the prominent position it has had for centuries. Via Mare, therefore, as a pilot project in the territory, a starting point, which potentially, could be able to trigger other virtuous actions on the remaining site-city borders, and beyond.
In fact, great attention and interest has been shown for some time by numerous international organizations, including UNESCO, in order to promote the creation of a buffer zone for all Vesuvian sites.