LA COPERTURA IN FERRO DEL POLITEAMA GARIBALDI. UNA INNOVATIVA SPERIMENTAZIONE NELLA PALERMO DEL XIX SECOLO

The roofing of the nineteenth Politeama Garibaldi in Palermo creates to the designer, Giuseppe Damiani Almeyda, technical and architectural difficulties: in fact, if the scene roofing has been resolved applying established schemes, for the roofing of the stalls area, made years later, an efficient connection with the existing roofing and the external walls was manifested. The goal of this study is the knowledge of the iron structure, the production and processing techniques adopted for the realization of the roofing, also aimed to the recognition of the inspiring structural models, the connecting systems, the state of preservation. Through the analysis of the used shapes and techniques, the roofing design of G. Damiani appears emblematic to define the transition between the iron handicraft and the iron and steel industry, between the structural intuition of the “engineer-inventor” and the certainty provided by the new computing capability of complex organisms. Through archival documents, the inspections and the direct analysis, we can deeply know, despite the apparent complexity, the roofing general organization and its metal components. This condition allows to direct the recovery and adaptation project of the theatre towards solutions that preserve and enhance the main characteristics, both the typological that the constructive ones, informing at the same time the necessary modifications to the principle of compatibility.