Parco della Pace
The Park – A Model of Ecological Infrastructure and Urban Regeneration
The 65 hectares Park is one of the major urban nature regenerations in Italy: a conversion of a former airport, close a military base, an “ecological machine” providing ecosystem services at both urban and territorial scales. The Park offers visitors a multidimensional experience.
A Paradigm of the Park of the Future
The Park will be a model for future urban parks, capable of actively facing the impacts of climate change through nature-based solutions.
The Shape of Water – Green Infrastructure and Natural Hydraulics
Over 240,000 cubic meters of excavated soil shaped both a network of water bodies with a geometric and linear trend, as the local rural landscape, and embankments, up to 8 meters, adding a dynamic landscape. Water comes by aquifer. The works revealed interesting geological stratifications and archaeological finds carefully documented. The water system covers an area of 7 hectares and is an effective infrastructure for mitigating the increasingly frequent floods. It Is a real large detention basin, capable of storing up to 100,000 cubic meters of water. The Park is a complex nature-based solution.
Biodiversity – Creating Habitats and Ecotones
Due to the water bodies there is rich ecotonal zones and habitats diversity with an increasing presence of aquatic birds, amphibians, fishes, and other fauna. The planting strategy established a complex biodiversity. 12.5 hectares of different tree alignments, scattered groups, and reforestation areas defined perspectives at different scales. The planting system and soil movements are a sort of experimental forestry plantation cooperating with natural succession processes. There are also two butterfly gardens. 36 hectares are meadow areas managed through differentiated mowing regimes, 62,000 aquatic plants were introduced into the water bodies. There is also a “wilderness area” with no human intervention. All plants and seeds were sourced from local specialized nurseries, and large trees were grown in air-pot containers under long-term contracts.
Social and Cultural Integration
The Park has permanent and temporary functions; it is a place for leisure, sports, walking, music, social life, cultural events, and education. The "East Gate", the main entrance, is a large, covered square created by repurposing a former airport hangar, s a flexible space for events including the reception. The former buildings are now an aviation museum, a multipurpose venue, a Park House, spaces for local associations. Lawns and paved plazas host recreational activities (e.g. kite flying, skating). The Park host sports facilities. The former runway is a large-scale area events; the “Kilometro” canal—is suitable for canoeing. 8 kilometers of routes provide diversified access to different functional areas.
CREDITS
Landscape design team: PAN ASSOCIATI SRL, Italy (Benedetto Selleri, Gaetano Selleri, Giovanni Sanesi) + EMF Estudi Martì Franch, Spain + Franco Zagari, Italy
Architecture/engineering offices involved in the design: ITS Engineering Company, Italy (Giustino Moro, Andrea De Pin), Aspro studio (C. Bertorelli, arch. F. Dal Toso)
