The City Council and the family of the Italian set designer, author, among others, of the design of the cemetery of 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly', take the first steps to create a museum where his work can be exhibited
Diario de Burgos
October 18, 2023
[Guiditta has seen first-hand the space in which work is being done to house this collection with the help of the municipal architect, Javier Sánchez, and the councillor Yolanda Cuevas.]
The Sad Hill cemetery travelled, and continues to do, the Arlanza region around the world through The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. A film set that Carlo Simi designed more than half a century ago and that hosted the filming of one of the most iconic scenes in the history of cinema, not only of the western genre. Although it is perhaps one of his best-known works, the Italian architect and artistic director had a long career creating and drawing sets, costumes and props for directors such as Sergio Leone, Corbucci and Sollima in numerous films. An interesting and valuable material that could have as its final destination Covarrubias, where steps have begun to be taken to create a museum to house his legacy.
After some of these documents were exhibited in cities such as Los Angeles, Rome and Paris, the family discovered the public's interest in Simi's work and began to consider the possibility of creating a permanent exhibition with all of it. The destination was clear to them, the Arlanza region, partly thanks to the trust generated in them by the people who have worked on the recovery of the cemetery.
Fate, as Guiditta, Simi's daughter, cited, has made
Covarrubias the place where this museum could be. "I also have a special
bond with this town, since I was conceived at the Hotel Arlanza in the summer
of filming," joked the woman, who has been able to see first-hand the
space in which work is being done to house this collection, the so-called San
Tomás square, a disused building next to the church of the same name and whose
cession for the next 100 years has been requested from the Archbishopric by the
of the City Council.
[Carlo Simi’s daughter, Guiditta, and Joseba del Valle, one of the protagonists of the documentary “Unearthing Sad Hill”.]
With the help of the municipal architect, Javier Sánchez and the councillor Yolanda Cuevas, he toured the building, structurally in good condition, with stone walls and wooden beams that offer a very western aesthetic, but which needs a good reform. "Nice molto," he said almost at every turn, worrying about what the lighting would be like and whether the plans and drawings could be hung on the stone walls. Also photographs of the filming or those that Simi previously took of the locations to later make the designs.
Between cinema and reality. The most advanced aspect of the project is the design of the building, as the architect later presented, enthusiastic about this museum that could be named Simi-Sad Hill. The access to it would be through a garden and it is intended that the silhouette of Clint Eastwood welcomes visitors, who would then literally walk between steel tombstones (converted into information panels) and that would simulate the famous cemetery.
The ground floor would be a kind of subterranean world, a darker space, like a kind of cemetery. When you enter the first floor there will be more light and from there you will go up to a second floor. "There will be the real knowledge of cinema, an area of library, film library and documentation and research room."
Dynamic. The large amount of material available has led to the suggestion that it will be mainly the one related to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly that will be part of the permanent exhibition, although there could also be other films. "Later, temporary exhibitions could be made with other material, so people who have visited it will do it again because it has different content," explained Joseba del Valle, one of the protagonists of the documentary Unearthing Sad Hill and involved with the implementation of this project, for which the idea of a dynamic museum is being worked on. that hosts screenings or presentations, and the form of management could be as a Living Museum.
The rear outer area, the Garden of God, will also be important. A landscaped place, with steps placed in a semicircle reminiscent of Sad Hill and which will also be adapted, among others, with the planting of junipers, so that it resembles the original even more.
The first site that was thought of as the headquarters of Carlo Simi's museum was San Pedro de Arlanza. However, the idea had to be scrapped because part of it was committed to the Park House and there was not enough space. At that time, the City Council of Covarrubias took a step forward "because the opportunity that this collection was not in the region could not be missed".
A project of 300,000 euros that the Board is already aware of. Once the predisposition of the family and the City Council of Covarrubias to make the project a reality is clear, other steps have begun to be taken. The initiative has already been brought to the attention of organizations such as the City Council of Burgos or the University of Burgos, as well as verbally by Agalsa. They have all shown their intention to collaborate with her. The latest institutional breakthrough was made yesterday through a meeting between staff from the General Directorate of Cultural Policies of the Junta de Castilla y León and the architect Javier Sancho; Councilwoman Yolanda Cuevas; the daughter of Simi and Joseba del Valle. "The feelings behind it are very positive, as they found it a very interesting proposal," explained the latter.
The promoters of the museum explained that they are considering an investment of close to 300,000 euros to adapt the building, as long as it is ceded by the Archbishopric, in addition to everything that its musealization entails. To do this, they will try to apply for different lines of aid. The agreement between the Simi family and the City Council of Covarrubias to address the use and management of the material has also yet to be finalized.
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