Reconstruction of the Castle of Avigliana
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RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CASTLE OF AVIGLIANA FINAL THESIS BOOK BY VITORIA LUPPI 1 POLITECNICO DI MILANO School of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering Master of Architecture - Built Environment Interiors Author: VITÓRIA LUPPI Student ID: 896376 Supervisor: ALESSANDRO ROCCA Academic Year 2018-2019 2 3 «We excavate the past in order to find memories that are embedded in places, like the work of archaeologists. It is a searching and researching process that drives our curiosity. It allows deep thinking and also facilitates encountering things that have been forgotten, erased or vanished by our global modernization. This is the first step of our process often full of surprises and discoveries through which we begin to believe in the idea of excavating collective memories. Then that archaeology, the process of thinking from the past to the future, slowly becomes architecture» (Tsuyoshi Tane, Archaeology of the Future, Tokyo, TOTO Publishing, 2018). 4 5 I dedicate this work to everyone that helped me in this process, even with small attitudes. My biggest thanks goes to my father, my mother and my grandfather, who always believed in my potential and made my dreams possible. 6 7 ABSTRACT This thesis work presents a design proposal for a touristic center in the archaeological site of the Avigliana’s Castle, in the Avigliana city, Susa Valley, now characterized by the presence of the castle’s walls architectural ruins. Located in the top of the Pezzulano peak (+440) and accessible only by walking through a stone natural path, the ruins’ grandiosity and importance remains, but in need for a reconnection with the city and the Valley. The Susa Valley is rich in history and nature, with touristic attractions like the Sacra di San Michele, however there isn’t any reference point to organise the tourism and its activities in the Valley. Based on the understanding of the castle’s history and on the analysis of the present tourism, a specific site project was designed with three pavilions and a connection path, which dialogues with the ruins in a way that evokes the place’s imaginary and realm and its memory. The project aims to bring the castle’s importance back to the city and to the valley by telling its history, promoting encounters and appreciation, and respecting the archaeological site and its contemplative elements. Keywords: Avigliana’s Castle; Avigliana; Susa Valley; Topography, Archeology; Reuse; New Intervention; Peak; Archeological Site 8 9 TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTEXT p. 13 ANALISYS p. 25 CONCEPT p. 57 REFERENCES p. 65 BIBLIOGRAPHY p. 79 10 11 CONTEXT 12 13 ITALY 14 15 PIEDMONT 16 17 SUSA VALLEY 18 19 AVIGLIANA CITY 20 21 CASTLE OF AVIGLIANA 22 23 ANALYSIS 24 25 SUSA VALLEY TOURISM The tourism is one of the most important activities on the Susa Valley. With data from the Tesori del Valle di Susa, it was possible to understand the most requested touristic attractions (many of them related to culture) and also that the italians are interested on their own country history. Unfortunately, the existent info points and cultural spaces are not well spreaded for tourists or local population. 26 27 28 29 AVIGLIANA CITY Avigliana, Vian-a in piemontese, with 23,22 km² and 12.480 inhabitants (sense of 2017, January), is a town and commune of Turin in the Piedmont region. The city rises 383 meters from the sea level, and its about 25 kilometers from Torino by walking trough Val di Susa, a strategical position in an economically and military sense. The landscape was mostly formed during the big glacial periods, when the valley received mass of detritus from moraine period and generated two lakes, called Piccolo (365 meters from sea level) and Grande (352 meters from sea level, approximately 100 hectares, maximum profundity 30 meters), today used by aquatic sports’ lovers. It was during the last two glacial periods (Riss, 230.000 years ago, and Wurm, 120.000 yeras ago) that the lakes were formed, but nowadays only these two lakes remained in Avigliana. 30 31 Excavations along time found The historical centre of the city goes fossils of molluscs and other animals, an up the Pezzulano peak, with the ruins of the entire paleofauna, what motivated the castle visible specially from the Piazza Conte regional law nº 46 in 1980, May 16th, Rosso, surrounded by medieval houses founding the natural park of Avigliana’s and where was concentrated many public lakes (410 hectares) in order to maintain the activities in the past during the medieval environmental heritage. period, having now the Municipality and Tribunal of the city. The alps panorama was formed specially during the Mesozoic with under The main city’s activities before the Second the sea volcanos, giving origin to lava World War were agriculture, livestock and rocks which formed the Pirchiriano peak, handicraft, being still current nowadays. where is located the Sacra di San Michele After the war, there was a notable shift (962 meters), and the Pezzulano peak, of people to the cities, phenomena that with Avigliana’s castle in the top (467 happens even in small cities. meters). The landscape, with an ecological and climate peculiarities (lakes, mountains, city), is extremely attractive for tourism, which unfortunately is not well disclosure nowadays. 32 33 34 35 36 37 CASTLE OF AVIGLIANA Before talking about a new architecture and a new project, it’s necessary to understand the castle’s history over time, its importance and how it was seen before becoming the ruins now, even those with major importance to the city nowadays. Even with many different elements and languages, for example the two towers, one circular and another square shape, all of them dialogue with one another. The current situation of the castle is due to two major historical events: the French invasion and the carelessness of correct administration over time, not earthquakes or atmospheric events. In order to situate these events, a timeline with the main events is going to be presented along the paper. In the 574, the Lombardo King Cleph (Clefi) built the castle of Avigliana on the 38 39 top of the Pezzulano peak, but there is his granddaughter married Oddone di Until 1386, the Savoia lived their golden by orders of the marshal De Montmorency. no documentation of it being used as Savoia, bringing interest in the region of period, specially by the toll from the roads In 1536, after conquering the city of Susa, residence or military. From 750, with the end Piemonte, mainly commercial. It was in and commercial activities. Between the XII the French army partially destroyed the of Lombardo domination, the population the 1174 that the castle was destroyed by and XIV century, Avigliana’s castle gained castle of Avigliana by gun firing it. The of Avigliana gradually moved from the Federico Barbarossa in his assaults. two different fortifications. In the XV walls, which were not built to resist the Dora river margins to the peak Pezzulano, Century, Avigliana was made important by new armoury, did not resist and the enemy in order to escape from the instability due During the Savoia’s expansion to being strategic to defend the borders from was able to open a hole and penetrate the to the passage of many people in the Val Turin and their subsequent transference to the French’s invasion being used for the fortress. di Susa. It was documented that the peak the court at Torino, they used Avigliana as Savoia court occasionally. of Pezzulano was fortified in the X Century, house to the Savoia’s counts and the castle For about twenty years, the Piemonte but the first document that mentions the gained importance as military fortress. For With the death of Amedeo VIII di Savoia, region was disputed between France and castle is on 961. the inhabitants of the city it didn’t change in 1451, there were five successors in a Spain. It was only with Emanuele Filiberto, their routine, even if Avigliana city was period of half century, having Filiberto II di who won the San Quintino battle, that the The city depended from the Abbey of always important as a traffic point for those Savoia as the last of this period. Filiberto Savoy won back their prestige and in 1559 Novalesa, but from 888 some invasions who walked along the alps. The ‘strada del II made agreements with Luigi XII, current the countries signed a peace agreement. of the Saracens made people take refuge Cenisio’ and ‘del Monginevro’ were used France’s king, and allowed French military inside the Sacra di San Michele to do for the merchants that attended the big troops to access and go through Val di In 1627 the war between France not succumb to foreign domination. fairs at Fiandre and Champagne zone, and Susa to access Lombardia. After the death and Spain has been resumed, attacking The fight against the Saracen was won passing by the city, a toll should be paid of Filippo II, the situation got worse due the castle. The Duke Carlo Emanuele, by by the Arduin di Ivreva, or Arduin V, in to the city. to problems with French crimes. Carlos the side of the Spanish, was forced to the XI Century, which also built the first III, Savoia count, closed the borders and ratify the peace agreement at the Castello settlement of Avigliana’s castle. In 1046, Francis I, new king of France, sent his army di Avigliana. The Avigliana’s population 40 41 decayed from 2000 to 260 and many houses destroyed. In 1655 the castle was restructured and modernized probably by Amedeo di Castellamonte, but in 1691 that a French army, by the command of Catinet general, exploded the fortification of the castle, from which it remains only the ruins now.