Gemmo SpA has been awarded the concession for the energy efficiency of 91 Sicilian cultural sites. The agreement has a total value of 40 million euros, between investment and subsequent management. Among the targeted sites are the Valley of the Temples, the Syracuse Theater, the Spadafora and Zisa castles, and the Paolo Orsi Museum.

The long history between Gemmo, a benchmark inplant technology and facility management, and the world of art and culture is enriched with a new chapter. Today, in fact, it was signed the convention which starts the 30-year concession for the design, implementation and maintenance, through an Energy Performance Contract (EPC), of energy efficiency interventions. Present at the important meeting at the Palazzo dei Normanni were Nello Musumeci, president of the Sicilian Region; Alberto Samonà, councillor for cultural heritage and Sicilian identity; Daniela Baglieri, councillor for energy and public utilities; and Giuseppe Tomarchio, managing director of Gemmo.

According to the public-private partnership scheme, the works will be financed 49 % through a regional grant and the remainder through Gemmo’s bank resources as a shareholder. Specifically, the thirty-year concession will be divided into two years for construction and subsequent twenty-eight years for operation and maintenance.

The interventions ofenergy efficiency will concern thermal systems, window frames and the installation of photovoltaic systems in:

• 30 museums
• 29 archaeological areas
• 19 other regional facilities, such as libraries and galleries
• 13 offices and administrative buildings.

Benefits for the territory

The project is aimed at bringing environmental and energy-saving benefits, security and control, in addition to economic savings.

In particular it will bring:

• The production of energy from renewable and clean sources through photovoltaic systems;
• overall energy savings of 30 % of current consumption, with a guarantee of results from Gemmo;
• less invasiveness of maintenance during building openings, through careful planning of interventions and the use of components with long service lives;
• reduction in the number of breakdowns and shutdowns and associated risks by modernizing facilities;
• greater oversight and speed of interventions, thanks to monitoring and remote management systems;
• improved environmental comfort in the buildings covered by the interventions.

“For decades Gemmo has been a leading player in the field of cultural and artistic heritage, where design and execution skills must dialogue with beauty and art, in perfect balance between modernity, technology and history. To be able to provide our expertise for assets that are world heritage sites, such as the Valley of the Temples or the Theater of Syracuse, is a source of great pride and satisfaction.”, commented Giuseppe Tomarchio, managing director of Gemmo.

Gemmo’s countless interventions in the cultural heritage sector include the palace of Venaria Reale, La Fenice theater, the Alexandria Library in Egypt, the Civic Museums, MACRO, the Slaughterhouse and the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, MUDEC, the San Domenico museum complex (Forlì), Piazza dei Signori and Basilica Palladiana in Vicenza, theArena of Verona.