"It's not just a redevelopment project, but a civil and environmental rebirth project, capable of restoring life, beauty, and dignity to a place where decay and abandonment have prevailed for too long." Rosanna Laconi, Sardinia's Environment Councilor, on behalf of the Todde Regional Council, delivered the final administrative act for the old Marino Hospital in Cagliari, a "ruin" by the sea ready to "become a luxury hotel immersed in nature." The Region has completed the environmental assessment process. All that's missing is the City Council's acknowledgement.

The Project – At the eighth stop on Poetto, as the people of Cagliari call it, the former hospital will make way for 127 five-star beds, designed "according to criteria of minimal impact and full reversibility, with full respect for the delicate coastal ecosystem," as well as the "protected areas of Molentargius and the Saline. The goal," the councilor continues, "is to ensure a lasting balance between environmental protection, sustainable development, and historical memory." The resolution lists all the bodies that reviewed the project documents: from the Southern Sardinia Landscape Protection Service to the Regional Urban and Landscape Planning Department, as well as the Departmental Inspectorate of the Forestry Corps and the One-Stop Shop for Environmental Protection (SUAPE) of the Municipality of Cagliari. "A long administrative process that will allow Poetto to be restored to its status as a symbolic place for the city," bringing "one of its most emblematic buildings back to life," the Democratic Party member of the council emphasized.

From past to future – There's indeed a lot of history behind this €12 million redevelopment. A public tender in January 2021 established the rules and criteria for the revitalization: the winning bidder was Colonia Hotel srl, a company affiliated with entrepreneur Sergio Zuncheddu, publisher of the L'Unione Sarda Group. The dates help reconstruct the context: Sardinian politicians took over thirty years after the hospital's final closure to decide on the Marino's new future. It was the early 1980s when doctors and patients began to be moved to the former Esit building, a short distance away. The relocation of services and offices was completed in about a decade, leaving the two-story building vacant, which from aerial shots resembles a crescent moon on the beach. Its shape was designed by Cagliari architect Ubaldo Badas starting in 1937. It was the former Colonia Dux for children, where pride of place was reserved for poor and sickly children. Iodine, especially against tuberculosis. After the Second World War, it was converted into a hospital, providing seaside treatment for trauma and fractures. Then it was abandoned, punctuated only by a few sporadic insights. A long administrative paralysis was now behind it.

The Work – The resolution of October 8th contains details on how and where workers and bulldozers will be deployed. "The main building will be restored along with its annexes," namely "the former emergency room, the former hospital services building, and the former flammable liquids storage facility." It will be redeveloped inside and out, with "naturalistic engineering interventions to stabilize the dune system, plant native species, and remove asphalt surfaces," so as to "restore ecological continuity and landscape harmony to one of Sardinia's most beloved and delicate stretches of coastline." And the Marino construction site won't be a typical construction site: the Colonia Hotel will have, among other obligations, "to maintain an updated groundwater register," according to the Region's document. Between the sea and the salt pans, everyone will have to be vigilant: from the municipality to the metropolitan city. From the Local Health Authority (ASL 8) to the Regional Environmental Protection Agency (ARPAS).

The fee – The money from Colonia Hotel srl, which was awarded the twenty-year state concession on November 30, 2021, is earmarked for public coffers. The regional notice set the base amount at €418,797.60 and established that the increase would be one of the parameters used to evaluate the offers. The company officially specified the highest increase, equal to 1,200%.

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