Libeskind proposes a complex of buildings for the bridge over the Strait of Messina

Rome - American architect Daniel Libeskind will design a complex of buildings that will rise on the Calabrian side of the bridge between the Apennine Peninsula and Sicily. Citing the company building the bridge, the ANSA agency reported it today. The bridge over the Messina Strait in southern Italy is set to become the longest suspension bridge in the world upon completion.
    Among other things, Libeskind will design an administrative center in the Calabrian municipality of Villa San Giovanni, which will be responsible for the safety of the bridge. The center will also house hotels, a shopping center, and conference and exhibition halls, announced the state-owned company Stretto di Messina.
    The renowned architect will also reshape the appearance of the promenade in the town of Villa San Giovanni, where the bridge will begin. The municipality, with just under 14,000 inhabitants, is expected by the builders to become a new tourist attraction.
    "The architectural project should highlight the significance of the Mediterranean as a center of European culture. The bridge creates a unique connection between both coasts and should become a symbol of freedom of movement," Libeskind is convinced.
    The sixty-four-year-old architect is known for, among other things, his designs of Jewish museums in Berlin and Copenhagen, or the expansions of museums in Denver, USA, and Toronto, Canada. In 2003, he won the architectural competition for the design of the One World Trade Center in New York, which is to rise at the site where the World Trade Center towers stood before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
    Construction work on the highway and railway bridge between mainland Italy and Sicily is expected to begin before the end of this year. The bridge, which is projected to cost 6.1 billion euros (153 billion CZK), will be nearly 3.7 kilometers long, 60 meters wide, and will rise 64 meters above sea level.
    The controversial project, criticized especially for its financial cost and potential negative ecological impacts, was introduced in 2001 by the then Berlusconi government. In 2006, it was canceled by Prime Minister Romano Prodi's cabinet, but the subsequent Berlusconi government revived the project.
    Once operational, planned for 2017, the bridge is expected to accommodate up to 4,500 cars per hour and 200 trains daily.