Giacomo Leone: The Greatest Postwar Sicilian Architect?

In a provocative profile on Artribune, critic Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi argues that Giacomo Leone (1929–2016) was the most talented Sicilian architect of the postwar period, challenging the dominance of the Palermo school and the legacy of figures like Pasquale Culotta and Giuseppe Samonà. Leone, based in Catania, was a self-taught historian and a politically engaged figure—a city councilor for the Italian Communist Party (PCI) and later the PSIUP. His most celebrated work is the Le Ciminiere complex in Catania, a former sulfur factory transformed into a cultural center, which Puglisi calls the "cathedral of Sicily's cultural redemption." Despite its poor execution, the building exemplifies Leone's philosophy: architecture as space, concreteness, and action, rooted in local traditions like lava plaster. Leone studied in Venice, where he was influenced by critic Bruno Zevi, whose support may have contributed to Leone's later obscurity. His difficult personality led to conflicts with academia and local politicians, including former mayor Enzo Bianco, resulting in no street or square named after him. Puglisi calls for the Ciminiere complex to be dedicated to Leone, whose archive—one of the richest but most disorganized in Sicilian architecture—remains largely unexplored.