Plans for science center in quake-damaged L'Aquila

Photos courtesy of www.6aprile2009.it

Many towns have public science centers. But it's difficult to think of one so close to the geographic, spiritual, and cultural heart of a city as one being planned in L'Aquila, Italy.

The 7.5-acre Parco del Sole (Park of the Sun) science center will sit at the center of L'Aquila in a park filled with towering trees and wide lawns. Next door stands a symbol of the medieval city, the church of Santa Maria di Collemaggio, whose roof partially collapsed in an earthquake that ravaged the town and the region last April. A destination for pilgrims, it housed the body of Pope Celestine V and is considered by many to be the site of the first Papal Jubilee.

Tying the two together, a statue with Pope John Paul II's declaration, “Science and faith are both God's gifts,” would stand at the Parco del Sole entrance.

A small planetarium and exhibit hall would showcase the work of nearby Gran Sasso National Laboratory, the world's biggest underground laboratory and a partner in the project.

The plan grew out of a suggestion by town leaders who appreciated Gran Sasso's long history of science outreach. Still, the offer caught then-laboratory director Eugenio Coccia off guard. “I was impressed that just by a spiritual center could be a scientific center like this park,” he said from his University of Rome office.

Planning for the project was already under way when the April 6 earthquake struck. More than 60,000 people lost their homes, and much of the daily business of the town has had to relocate to Rome and other places.

“So this project is going on slowly now,” Coccia says, “but I am confident that it is so good that it will go on.”

The National Italian American Foundation is collecting donations to move the project forward. The project Web site, www.parcodelsole.org, has this message: “Completion of this project will symbolize a renaissance for the town as well as a scientific inspiration for future generations.”

Tona Kunz

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