RESTAURI DELLE CHIESE BASILIANE NELLA SICILIA ORIENTALE DELLA PRIMA METÀ DEL XX SECOLO. LA CHIESA DEI SANTI PIETRO E PAOLO A FORZA D’AGRÒ (MESSINA)

Studies and interventions between the 19th and 20th century the Basilian churches with basilica plant in western Sicily, outline a time of Sicilian restoration, with themes of debate and design choices that led to the medieval image of these monuments. To the most famous church of Saints Pietro e Paolo in Forza d’Agrò flanks the churches of St. Filippo of Fragalà in Frazzanò, of Saints Pietro e Paolo of Itala and S. Maria in Mili San Pietro are involved under restoration processes for the entire first half of the 20th century. For all four monuments a key role are played by the characters of Antonino Salinas, Giuseppe Patricolo and Francesco Valenti. Due to the interest of Antonino Salinas, it starts an historical key moment for these monuments, and their main characteristics (type materials, structures) begins to being catalogued and studied. As study case it will be proposed to focus on in the restoration of the church Saints Pietro e Paolo in Forza d’Agrò till the sixties with the restoration made by Pietro Lojacono. Interventions that analyzed ways and choices made, are contextualized as historical discipline in which the practice allowed operations deliverances and isolation of the monuments. Despite this, today we have one more witness of these architectures also thanks to those who tried to studies the architectural qualities and searched in a special way, to preserve memory that would have been inevitably lost.