Exhibition The Fragile Beauty

The project "Reuse the Fallen Church" represented a significant dialogue between the local and the global, the material and the immaterial, the past and the future, taking as its fulcrum the evocative Church of Saints Luca and Giuliano in Grottole, affectionately known as the Chiesa Diruta. This silent jewel, witness to centuries of history, was the protagonist of an international competition of ideas launched in November 2020 by ReUse Italy and Wonder Grottole.

The initiative was born from the desire to focus attention on the reuse of abandoned architectural heritage and to enhance the historic center of Grottole. The Chiesa Diruta, built in the 15th century with the ambition of becoming an important religious center but never completed and subsequently abandoned due to earthquakes and fires, was the blank canvas on which over 550 visionaries including architects, engineers and students from all over the world imagined a new future as a concert center.

The result of this extraordinary global participation found a prestigious showcase in the exhibition "La fragile bellezza. Nuove visioni per la Chiesa Diruta", hosted at the National Museum of Matera. This exhibition welcomed some of the most innovative proposals, offering an original and stimulating story of the historical and cultural context of Basilicata.

The exhibition represented an ideal bridge between the city of Sassi and the villages of the hinterland, an opportunity to generate a narrative of rebirth and sustainability based on dialogue and the creation of new connections. "The fragile beauty" became a symbol of how vulnerability can transform into strength, and how beauty can be the engine of sustainable and conscious development.

Through the creative visions presented, the project and the exhibition embodied Wonder Grottole’s mission to reinhabit the historic center, promote cultural regeneration and reactivate the community fabric, bringing new perspectives and skills to the territory.