"WHY BAKU?" By arch. Marco Iaconetti
“Why Baku?”, the first thing that the italian hostess of Aeroflot said to me as I was check in was “Why Baku?” and it was the first question the immigration official asked me in Baku. Both time I replied “Because it was a country I Knew nothing about noa could I Image what to except.”
I’d always had the desire to visit The Center Asia, since I read “Buonanotte Signor Lenin”, the book was written by Tiziano Terzani, where he spoke his trip in the coup against Gorbachev, and also because in the capital of Arzebaijan was the the birth place of Richard Sorge, the most famous spy of the Second World War, who warned Stalin about nazi invasion in Russia.
I arrived in the middle of the night when the city was asleep, and I was able to experience the dynamism of the city which has as result of due to oil resources. Since ancient times gas and oil in general, have played a great role in the azera history, infact to underline this this, there’s the famous Zoroastrian temple Atesgha, which was built in an area rich in gas and in the centre of the structure you can see the holy flames which have been burning since it was built.
In the suburbs, typical example of sovietic urbanistic, where there are a lot of appartament blocks, that along main road with huge arteries of the city, which were dirty and degraded, but there were new beautiful architectural contemporaney artifacts, such as “Heydar Aliyev”, was designed by the great archistar Zaha Hadid. The majestic projects is undercostruction, and it’s going to accomodate three auditorium, one library and a museum, and it’ll have a key role in the city culture.
From the center of the city there’s a tremendous wiev of The Caspio Sea below, and at first sight the city looks like Naples, there’s an amazing union between ancient and modern, where the remains of the citadel are well integrated inside a new pedestrian zone. The new developments are sprinning up at a fantastic space, but at the same time reitaining its cultural past, and the result a perfect fusione between past and present. The citadel which has been remained intact since it was built, has been under UNESCO protection since 2003, there are a varoius walk around the Old Town that the vistor can enjoy the magical atmosphere of what’s unforgettable experience. The looking for the docks towards the city one is struck by how perfectly the city blends in with its natural surronding.
In this area, where the most important italian fashion designers have thier shops, the amount of new development in the city is a cosequence of Baku economic strenght of a symbol. The long paths that skirt the Caspio Sea an able the visiter to admire the architectural elegant and also the urbanistic elegant of the city. On the edge of the city, next to the Governament Palace, where one can see the beautiful fountaines, open space of tree lined parts, and under which joint car park is been built.
All parts of the city are connectide district to the Seafront by a system of tunnels. At the night the part has to be seen to be belived, the beauty design lighting produces a costantly changing kaleidoscope of colur which is enterteiment in itsself and a perfect place to spend an evening.
The three tallest skyscrapers dominate the skyline, standing on the highest point of the city, and the soft curvs of the skyscarpers remind an one of the city leaves on the sculpture of the Shirvashan Palace.
Dulcis in fundo, not only is it unlike anything in Italy providing a delightful change of culture, I also made many new friends many people who didn’t see me us a foreigner but just as a person between different culture.