Alberto Campo Baeza

Organised by the Syracuse School of Architecture and the Municipality of Melilli, the inauguration of the new Public Space at the Sant’Antonio quarries in Melilli took place on 4 December 2025, marked by a lecture given by the architect Alberto Campo Baeza. The venue was filled beyond capacity with architects and architecture students, far exceeding the permitted attendance. The atmosphere was, quite simply, unforgettable.

The quarry space itself is extraordinary. It was here that limestone was extracted to build the Baroque architecture of the region, including Syracuse and Noto. The vast void—rising to a height of approximately thirty metres—is awe-inspiring, cathedral-like in scale. Deep vertical fissures allow shafts of sunlight to penetrate the interior, placing the space under a powerful and almost dramatic tension. Campo Baeza remarked that the site should be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so striking is its beauty.

Following this inaugural event, the space is expected to host musical and dance performances. There is, quite literally, no other place in the world like it.

Campo Baeza’s lecture was particularly compelling. He presented several of his most recent works, alongside projects realised in Italy. Such a gesture of generosity cannot be sufficiently acknowledged. The event was impeccably organised by the architects and professors Andrea Morana and Alessandro Mauro of Syracuse. The inauguration was presided over by Giuseppe Carta, Mayor of Melilli; Bruno Messina, Dean and Rector of the University of Catania; and the Director of the Syracuse School of Architecture.