Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has used a visit to the new Salerno Maritime Terminal, inaugurated today, to pay tribute to its architect Zaha Hadid, who died last month.
"This extraordinary work adds to everything Salerno is doing to transform itself and I think it is marvellous," Renzi said. "It is also a way of remembering the great architect that Zaha Hadid was."
Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) won the international competition in 2000 to design the new terminal, which was specified in a 1993 plan for the social, economic and environmental regeneration of the city.
Located on the public quay that extends into Salerno’s working harbour and marina, the new maritime terminal houses administration offices for national border controls and shipping lines, the terminal for international ferries and cruise ships and a terminal for local and regional ferries.
Announcing the inauguration today, ZHA said: "Like an oyster, the terminal’s hard, asymmetric shell protects the softer elements within; sheltering passengers from the intense Mediterranean sun during the popular tourist season."
The firm added: "At night, the glow of the terminal near the harbour entrance will act as a lighthouse to the port, welcoming visitors to the city."
The new terminal will enable the port of Salerno to increase arrivals of ferry and cruise ships by 500,000 additional passengers each year, ZHA said, which would create up to 2,000 new jobs in the city’s hospitality, services and retail sectors.
Hadid, an Iraqi-born British architect, died unexpectedly at the age of 65 on 31 March in a Miami hospital while seeking treatment for bronchitis. Last week her firm vowed to carry on, with 36 projects under construction in 21 countries.
Photographs: Helene Binet
