Parco Reggia di Rivalta
The Park of the Reggia di Rivalta, inaugurated in June 2025, marks the transformation of a historic site into a new ecological and cultural infrastructure.
The project emerges from a place rich in layers — where stories developed over time come back to life: from an 18th-century Este garden to productive farmland, from a residual space to a public park. The multiplicity of its diverse pasts unfolds in a park where eras that never coexisted resurface and now live side by side.
A perimeter boulevard, adjacent to the ancient boundary wall, defines the edge and connects some of the park’s main attractions: the central parterre, with its oval fountains and winter garden; the elm rotunda; the dancing lawn, a stage for ancient ceremonies or spontaneous new rituals; and the belvedere, offering a privileged viewpoint over the surrounding landscape.
A system of diagonal paths makes the central part of the park accessible — a fragment of rural landscape where seasonal mowing, unexpected blooms and unpredictable mixtures reveal a nature in constant transformation.
Five large pergolas emerge as visible landmarks, reachable across the vastness of the meadows.
Restored historical elements — such as the basins, grottoes and the belvedere — coexist with contemporary features, including crafted furnishings in terrazzo embedded with fragments of recycled glass that reflect the light.
At night, a multitude of pinpoint lights ensures visibility along the boulevard and enhances the role of the pergolas as illuminated spaces, immersed in the chiaroscuro of the central lawn.
The park stands as a shared habitat between humans and animal species, and as a meeting point between past and future. It thus becomes a living platform — embracing the ever-changing and transitory nature of the landscape — providing new infrastructure for the local community and an attraction for national and international visitors.
