GLASGOW (SCOZIA) – A forgotten tragedy of World War II is to be marked in a special way through the opening of a new cloister in Glasgow.
Full plans for the proposed Italian Cloister Garden were revealed by First Minister Alex Salmond and Archbishop Mario Conti on Wednesday May 28 as they launched the exciting new project.
The cloister and garden will be built next to St Andrew’s Cathedral in Clyde Street. It will recall in a special way all who died aboard the liner Arandora Star, which was sunk while carrying mainly Italian civilians who had been rounded up from their homes, shops and cafes as “enemy aliens” in 1940. The victims have never been properly remembered.
The last remaining survivor of the ship Mr Rando Bertoia, aged 88, (pictured above with Archbishop Conti, Mr Salmond and the architect Giulia Chiarini) was present at the launch as were relatives of those who died. Details of the proposed garden are to be found at the specially set up website http://www.italiancloister.org.uk/

Archbishop Conti said: “The chance to build a cloister garden like this one comes but once in a lifetime. It falls to our generation to make this wonderful monument a reality. The appeal is open to anyone of any race or nationality. This will be a garden for everyone. We plan a “wall of names ” to remember those who have died and those who help build the cloister.
“The monument itself will be a fitting symbol of the great bonds of friendship between Scotland and Italy. Besides offering much needed facilities and gathering space for the Cathedral, the Cloister Garden will quickly become a much-loved oasis of tranquility amid the city bustle; a place to come alone or with friends, to reflect, to sit awhile and to remember”.
Giulia Chiarini from Rome – the architect of the new space will beavailable for interview and will bring a model of the garden.
Work is expected to begin in winter 2008-2009 and last a year. The total cost of the cloister-garden project is £1.5m. The cloister-garden complex will include a café, exhibition space, meeting rooms, a gathering area as well as the central courtyard, offering a range of new facilities to worshippers, tourists and visitors to the mother church of all Catholic churches in west-central Scotland which was built 1814-1816.
At the same time, the Cathedral will also undergo a major transformation with new floors, lighting, pews, decoration, heating etc.

Tag: Italian Cloister Garden, arandora star, Archibishop Mario Conti, Alex Salmond