Question time on the mosque in via Bologna
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The Question time held in the Regional Council of Piedmont concerns the project for the mosque in via Bologna in Turin, planned on the site of the former Fonderie Nebiolo. The question is put by Lega group leader Fabrizio Ricca, who argues that the site cannot be used by the Fondazione della Confederazione Islamica Italiana (Foundation of the Italian Islamic Confederation) for years to come because of the time needed for environmental remediation [1].
The remediation issue
According to Ricca, the Region's reply shows the need for remediation of the former industrial site before the planned building can be used. According to Arpa Piemonte (Piedmont's environmental protection agency), the assessment cannot be completed until five years have passed since the first post-remediation check. Regional councillors Matteo Marnati (Environment) and Enrico Bussalino (Public Works) confirm that the site cannot be considered fully remediated until five years have passed since the works were completed [1].
The building permit was issued by the City of Turin to the Fondazione della Confederazione Islamica Italiana last October, but the remediation, which began the previous May, is reportedly still under way. According to what has emerged, if the works were finished in 2027, the site would still remain unusable at least until 2032. The president of Arpa Piemonte, Secondo Barbero, states that the agency does not comment on the stages of the remediation, but confirms there is no certainty on the timing of the site's use [1].
The asbestos issue
Ricca also raises the issue of asbestos in the building. He cites a technical and property survey drawn up by the City of Turin in 2018, which listed the building in the municipal asbestos register under number 357, flagging suspect elements that had not been remediated and not ruling out the presence of further materials in other parts of the complex. The Lega group leader asks the City to halt the project until contamination, asbestos and user safety are clarified [1].
The Islamic Confederation's reply
The Confederazione Islamica Italiana has responded to Ricca's statements. It confirms that the site is listed in the register of contaminated sites and that remediation is not yet complete, but states that the approved project provides for a Permanent Safety Measure (Messa in Sicurezza Permanente, MISP). According to the Confederation, during the five years of the monitoring plan it is possible to carry out building work on the site and, once this is finished, to use it: the five years, it stresses, are not a period during which the area must remain unused [1].
Sources
- CronacaQui Torino — 3 November 2026