Paul MC Sherry Photography

FIRST MINISTER AND ARCHBISHOP REVEAL NEW ITALIAN GARDEN PLAN FOR GLASGOW.

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First Minister Alex Salmond,Mr Rando Bertoia,Giulia Chiarini and Archbishop Mario Conti.

A forgotten tragedy of World War II is to be marked in a special way
through the opening of a new tourist attraction in Glasgow.

Full plans for the proposed Italian Cloister Garden will be revealed by
First Minister Alex Salmond and Archbishop Mario Conti on Wednesday May
28 when they launch 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 the 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, will be present at the launch as will relatives of those who
died. Interviews can be arranged. Details of the proposed garden are to
be found at the specially set up website 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 be
available 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.

Photographs from the Launch on Wednesday 28th May 2008

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All Photographs by Paul Mc Sherry

Photographs can be Purchased by e-mailing paul.mcsherry@ntlworld.com