Monte degli Ulivi, Building complex and Italian national heritage in Riesi, Italy.
Monte degli Ulivi is a building complex in Riesi, Sicily, composed of six modernist structures arranged on a hillside. The compound includes educational facilities, residential buildings, a library, and vocational training areas.
The complex was built between 1963 and 1966 as an outreach initiative by the Waldensian Church to establish a center in Sicily. Architect Leonardo Ricci designed the project to combine education and community in a region lacking such services.
The complex serves as a gathering place for education and community living, with classrooms, a library, and shared residential spaces. It represents a model where different generations live and learn together in one location.
The site is best explored on foot to appreciate the layout and surrounding landscape. Walking across the hillside at a slow pace allows you to move between buildings and observe the agricultural areas with olive and almond trees.
The roofs feature curved organic forms made of white-plastered concrete that adapt to the sloping terrain. This experimental roofing approach from the 1960s represents an early attempt to integrate modern architecture with the natural landscape.
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