Brunello Cucinelli’s commitment to Italy

Brunello Cucinelli reconfirms himself a benefactor of the Italian territory. After restoration projects in Solomeo and in Norcia, the humanist entrepreneur, at the helm of the 919-million-euro Umbrian brand with an estimated goal of 1 billion in business in the current fiscal year, unveiled a new restoration operation dedicated to Castelluccio di Norcia in the province of Perugia.

The ancient Umbrian village, struck by the 2016 earthquake, lies in the Monti Sibillini National Park and is dominated by Monte Vettore. The redevelopment work, overseen by the Brunello and Federica Cucinelli Foundation, was unveiled yesterday at the Triennale di Milano, after being developed in early 2017, interrupted for two years during the pandemic and then resumed and completed last year.

«I have been fond of Norcia since 1980, we had restored together with the monks the monastery. Then the earthquake of October 30, 2016, happened. Together with the architect and friend Massimo de Vico Fallani I decided to do work on this wonderful village, a place of the soul and spirit, blessed by God, where the monks went to pray. We believe restoring is for eternity, we wanted to try to design our idea, with a vision for the next 500 years,» the Founder explained.

A goal aimed at returning Castelluccio to what it used to be, with agricultural, commercial, and amiable tourism. «We hope to start the work before the biennium, but getting the authorizations is complicated because there is always the superintendence of fine arts, to verify and guard our places» Brunello Cucinelli pointed out to MFF, who defines the project as a tribute to the beauty of the village, its ancient history, the hardworking population, and a gift designed for a future inspired by human sustainability.

«I would be pleased if it were interpreted by everyone for what it is, a gift dedicated to Umbria. We will start with rebuilding Piazza della Fonte and restoring the Church of Santa Maria Assunta (the latter was razed to the ground except for the apsidal area, ed.). Then, there will also be a new amphitheater with a view towards Monte Vettore. Our Umbria will be a very special place for the next few years too, we need to find places like this, where you can breathe in silence, intimacy, and spirituality». In a total of 28 drawings, including plans, elevations, details, and perspectives, anti-seismic statics and energy saving will be primary aspects, followed by the adaptation of systems and the insertion of new infrastructures. The goal of the operation, a result of long and accurate studies carried out on archive documents and numerous on-site inspections, will be to propose to the community a village on a human scale with deep respect for its genius loci. It will include a true landscape restoration, which will combine urban core and nature, the forms of the village, and the geological and floristic environment, following the criteria of the environmentalist approach developed by Gustavo Giovannoni in the 1930s. After all, the beauty of Castelluccio di Norcia starts precisely from its landscape. “I remember when Brunello and I went to the site. The sacredness of the place and nature is one of the reasons that pushed us towards this direction, an architecture without gardens has no great importance, it was when we got to know the landscape that the project was born,” Massimo de Vico Fallani added.

There is an important message linked to the initiative. «Every homeowner could imagine restoring his second home as early as tomorrow morning, starting with what we have presented today. Let this be an omen for its reconstruction. After the earthquake, nobody lives there anymore, and everything has to be restored. The buildings facing the square are private. Our wish is to be able to see the beginning of the return of life to the village» Cucinelli concluded. (All rights reserved)