Besides an example of proto-farm-industrial architecture the Real Cantina is the expression of a reformist culture belonging to the late Enlightenment, that was introduced by the royal court moving to Sicily during Napoleon’s invasions into the kingdom of Naples and bears witness to the royal family’s various and direct interests in this territory from 1799-1800 on.
In particular, these interests are bound up with Prince Leopoldo, King Ferdinand’s second-born, who was Abbot of Partinico and commander of the Royal Commendam from 1799. The king bought the Marchese della Gran Montagna’s house and its large estate, that had become the “Real Casina”, to make it the Abbot’s house. It was placed near the Cantina but today its traces only remain on the maps of that time.
It is no accident that after a royal decree of 1800 Partinico became a university and got the present title of City. It was joined to the Royal Commendam so the City stopped paying tributes to the Palermitan Senate. Today its emblem still represents an eagle that reminds its past as fifth zone of Palermo.
From the second half of the 19th century the Real Cantina’s importance and function sank into oblivion, deterioration and self-distruction., because it was abandoned to private individuals.
From the end of the Seventies the local cultural world and the public administration took the initiative to make it become a public property. Thanks to the Mayor’s will, Giacoma Cannizzo (1993-1999), the local administration bought the building complex for less than one billion lire after entering into an agreement with the company that owned the building in 1997.
So the project of consolidation, restoration and fruition of the building complex as Museum of historical cultural and farm tradition began. Diana Latona and Filippo Terranova, two architects from Palermo, were instructed to make the project by the local administration at the end of the Eighties. The project was approved with the resolution G.M. 286 of October 13th, 2004 and the financial support - € 4.937.176,66 - was provided for by P.O.R. Sicilia 2000/2006 – within the P.I.T. n. 17 “Delle Torri e dei Castelli”.
After an auction, the local administration awarded the Consortile Borbonica a contract for the works, which began on July 8, 2005 and finished on December 21, 2007.
As for the historical and cultural importance of the Museum, that was already equipped with an auditorium, offices and coffe-bar, we thought about a visual mark of communication to promote the image all over Italy and the world and with an emblematic graphic identity: a mark and logotype that can represent the cultural and historical values of the Real Cantina Borbonica, Museum of historical cultural and farm tradition and its contents; a “visual signature” idenfiable and visible within the context of museums and cultural institutions, that today has got a strategic importance
for the economic growth of a city.
Since we know that every place has got its own identity and a “cultural” place identity, like a Museum, is due to the area where it stands, its architecture and contents (temporary or permanent superstructures, events and activities), the communication project holds content and container together. The mark represents the keyword to information which can be the preface and the attraction to a process of deep analysis of the place and its values. The more this interface is thought the more the visitor can enjoy the container and its contents and will be attracted from it. The logotype will be used for every promotional communication by every mass media (press, Internet, TV, brochures, signs, etc.) in two and three dimensions, in every field and by different bodies (societies, companies and everybody wants to promote the museum by previous agreement with the local Administration).
For this reason, the Administration advertised a competition of ideas, in order to choose an original, communicative and cheap mark.
On February 10, 2008 an announcement of competition was published, even thanks to the cooperation and support by AIAP (Associazione Italiana Progettazione per la Comunicazione Visiva – via Ponchielli, 3 Milano – www.aiap.it ) that advertised it on its web site. The competition was open to graphic design and advertising companies, as well as graphic designers, architects who formally have worked as professionals since January 1, 2005, people qualified in Design, Visual Communication, Advertising, Architecture, Fine Arts and Cultural Heritage in public and private schools.
On April 15, 2008, deadline to present the proposals, 307 projects arrived from every corner of Italy, besides more than 9 projects which arrived in late, so not competing.
Every proposal expresses the author’s artistic and cultural feeling as well as the synthesis of place and product according to a subjective point of view. They show peculiar and hidden details and contribute, like a small pieces of a mosaic, to construct a new representation of the monument, its context, territory, history and local farm culture.
A jury was appointed with the Town Council powers by the Commissioner pro tempore Mr Saverio Bonura, consisting of Giuseppe Chia, President of AIAP, (at the beginning) Giuseppe Casarrubea, an historian, Maria Fratusco, artist and teacher, Diana Latona and Filippo Terranova, two architects, and the chairwoman of the board, the undersigned Architect Vincenza Quartuccio. They were entrusted with the task of selecting the proposals and choosing three finalists according to the rules of the announcement. So the first has been la firma del Museo (The Museum signature).
The local administrators want to guard with care the deeds of this comptetion into a patrimonial public fund that can be permanently visible in the museum, due to the high quality and indisputable scientifc, artistic and cultural value of the proposals.
So they want to collect all the logotypes in this Catalogue, that will be spread all over Italy, to have it known and to show their gratefulness to everybody took part and contributed to create a mosaic, consisting of 316 pieces, telling the unusual and unkown history of our territory.