On the construction site of St. Benedict in Norcia, Vito Barozzi meets with President Mattarella
The company, headquartered in Apulia, is working on the reconstruction of the ancestral home that belonged to Europe’s patron saint.
Mr. Vito Barozzi, founder and manager of Cobar SpA, together with the workers employed at the Cobar construction site, will welcome President Mattarella tomorrow, February 25, during a presidential visit to the Basilica of St. Benedict in Norcia, now undergoing reconstruction.
“This basilica is not only the symbol of Norcia, but also the home of the patron saint of Europe. In such a historical moment like this, in which the conditions of peace in our continent are at risk, the emotion one feels when putting these stones back together is very strong”, as stated by Mr. Vito Barozzi. who founded his company 40 years ago in Altamura, in the Apulian province of Bari.
He further elucidates: “Of this public heritage site, which has been in this state since 2016, the facade alone is left standing, which has been enclosed in steel supports to avoid further collapse. Cobar will take care of the entire reconstruction, just as it did in the past for the Petruzzelli Theater in Bari, that burned down in a fire in 1991. The estimated time for completion of the work is roughly two years, but we are confident that we will be able to return the basilica to the community before the that deadline. The construction site started ten days ago, in compliance with strict legal protocols in place”.
Among the interventions carried out by Cobar SpA, the latest two buildings that have been opened to the public are: the Kursaal Santalucia Theater in Bari, that includes, along with restoration works, a futuristic technical structure capable of transforming the theatre hall according to the needs of any specific show; and the Hypogea of the Colosseum, one of the crown jewels of Italian culture and history. Other notable works include the Pontrelli Quarry in Altamura, where, side by side with palaeontologists and archaeologists, Cobar’s technicians have brought to light dinosaur footprints, that have been restored and made accessible to the public. Cobar has also been responsible for the rebirth of the Petruzzelli Theatre in Bari after its destruction in a fire in 1991; the restoration of the splendid Basilica of Santa Maria di Siponto, embellished by the work of Edoardo Tresoldi; and two masterful examples of artistic restoration (an area in which Cobar has gained extensive expertise and for which it has also obtained the SOA OS 2 -A certification), in the works carried out at the San Carlo Theatre in Naplesand Palazzo Barberini in Rome.
