The vine and the olive tree: restoration of the Castello del Poggio for the creation of a recreational-demonstration laboratory of typical crops
The main purpose of the intervention in the Municipality of Bolano, in the province of La Spezia, is the recovery of the landscape and architectural structure of the Castello del Poggio to make it accessible and usable to the public.
The valorization of the Castello del Poggio site began with restoration of the architectural elements present, such as the ruins of the Castle, the Pergolo, the retaining walls and the stone stairs, and finally the redevelopment of the existing plant systems, both fruit-bearing and ornamental ones. The valorisation of each element had as its main aim the correct communication of its historical, cultural, landscape and social value which places the Poggio di Bolano Castle in an area of particular importance, at the end of the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri, where the Val di Vara and the Valle del Magra meet.
The creation of a Demonstrative Play Laboratory which is a place for gathering and meeting, teaching and playing, in combination with educational panels that guide the visitor along two specific routes, makes the Castello del Poggio park a place of interest for different typologies of use. The particular layout of the site, so typical of the tradition of fortified areas as well as cultivated areas, makes the Poggio not easily and entirely practicable: the project has foreseen a way to make the parts of greatest interest visitable, partly with a free and accessible visit also to people with disabilities and partly with restricted accessibility and obligation of accompaniment, in order to guarantee the necessary minimum levels of safety.
F. Pizzoni team leader, C.Bonnaure, A. Colleoni, M. Cucchi, G. Stagnaro
