38 LINEAVERDE Architettura del paesaggio

I giardini di Piercesare Bozzalla Canaletto

Bozzalla’s projects all exhibit rigorous control of space, uninhibited use of movements of earth, a relationship with the agricultural landscape, constructive details calibrated with technical expertise all prominent characteristics of the work of Porcinai. The landscapist from Biella succeeds in making his mentor’s style live again with philological coherence.

iercesare Bozzalla is well-known in the rather than putting them into words, as I have Italian and foreign landscapists’ learned from my teacher Pietro Porcinai”. environment, but his reserved character, But it is not only this lesson of intellectual honesty P makes it unlikely to see what he does on that Bozzalla has learned from Porcinai; it is di Biagio a regular basis, makes him a hidden enough to visit any of his sites to realize that the Guccione player. He rarely relationship with this accepts invitations to extraordinary teacher is Docente partecipate at the key to understanding di Architettura conferences and round all his work in the field del Paesaggio table. He loves to say of of the landscape all’Università himself “I’m used to planning. degli Studi demonstrating my ideas I have known about di Firenze through my work itself Piercesare Bozzalla’s LINEAVERDE

Borgo Bellaluce Fabriano (AN): area d'ingresso ai garages

projects and realizations for a long time, but only recently have I had the occasion to visit his studio in the hills close to Settignano (), to see with my own eyes a vast collection of private gardens, of business park, of historical gardens restaurations, of landscape setups of every kind with his signature. I was greatly impressed by how a student could rivive and continue with philological coherence his teacher style 15 years after his death. It is truly exciting! Bozzalla constantly recalls the memory of his teacher in the rigorous control of space, the uninhibited use of movements of earth, a relationship with the agricultural landscape, constructive details calibrated with technical expertise all prominent characteristics of the work of the great Florentine landscapist. PROFILO The first work that Piercesare showed me at his studio was an extremely, complex and articulated PIERCESARE BOZZALLA CANALETTO project of a residential area in Fabriano. While he was explaining to me the solutions he chose, my Was born in Trivero (BI), he graduated in Architecture in 1979 from the university of Florence, since 1992 he has been mind was busy in a sort of game of a regular member of the AIAPP. Student and for many years cross-reference and verifying so many elements assistant of the Prof. Pietro Porcinai. Has work since 1971 call to mind a garden of exclusively in the field of garden architecture and Pietro Porcinai. All it takes is landscaping, for public and private clients. Has completed a to observe the elegant lot of projects in Italy and in foreign countries especially in structure in metal that Tuscany, Piedmont, Marche, Veneto, Lombardy, Emilia surmounts the circular air Romagna, Liguria, Umbria, Abruzzo, Campania, Puglia, intake, or to look at the Sardinia, as also in France, Montecarlo, Switzerland, Greece, underlying space, to Cyprus, Lebanon, Etiopia. understand how the teacher’s Most noted are: Archaeological park of Paestum, the lesson has been fully Directional Center in , National Museums of acknowledged. Certainly the Pontecagnano, Water Park Aquazzurra at Bologna, Park materials are different, the Urbano of Atares at Havana, Cuba; the environmental use of the spaces, defined as insertion of the state road St. Massimo - Campitello Matese, they are, have other uses, but offices of Clivet Clima at Feltre, External setup, parking the fact remains that he, who areas and fountains at the Merloni Appliances - Ariston knows the work of Porcinai is reminded of its offices at Fabriano (AN); Hotel Villa D’ Este at Cernobbio – spirit, of the same bold intuitions and of its formal ; Sporting Hotel Villa Maria at Francavilla at the Sea; coherence. Relay & Chateaux La Collegiata at St. Gimignano; Saint Raphael Resort in Limassol, Cyprus, Aegli Caffè Restaurant It would be easy to match up every Bozzalla’s in Athens; Private Hospital Villa Serena at Pescara. Recently work with works of his teacher. But the gardens of he has published <> in the records of the series of Seminars on the reproductions of consolidated models, but are the person and on his works, edited by the Province of . 40 I Giardini di Piercesare Bozzalla Canaletto LINEAVERDE

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constant search for a coherent reasoning of the Conoscere i giardini di Piercesare Bozzalla landscape that of his teacher these make one feel Canaletto è un’interessante esperienza, dimostra the spirit but not the form of the teacher’s message. che ancora oggi è vivo ed attuale l’insegnamento di Bozzalla knows how to respect the rural Porcinai, che può essere portato avanti con atmosphere in his projects in the country and it is really with the cultivated country that he knows coerenza, modernità ed attualità. how to comunicate with humility limiting himself to intervene only with essential elements. At

1: Villa sul 3 Castel San Pietro (Canton Ticino) creates a monte di pergola, a garden of roses and a garden of Porto no: impressive simplicity, one is almost unaware of giochi d'acqua his guiding hand. e vasca In the same way he succeeds in facing complex idromassaggio. situations for more sophisticated environments. In this case its hand is felt and he invents more 2: Azienda spectacular solutions and artificial, never Agricola Avra Castel San abandonig elegance for the control of forms: one Pietro (Canton meaningful testimony is a small garden in Ticino): Portofino in the small space of 15x15 meters giardino where he inserts a channel of water that pours into delle rose. a jacuzzi tub, enriching the garden’s composition with surrounding tubs of aquatics plants and a big 3: Sporting Hotel Villa stone mask as a backdrop. The careful study of Maria the lights, at night make this small garden a magic Francavilla a place. Mare (CH): The same elegance, the same discretion is present Fontana e giardino in a winter garden created inside the Sporting d'inverno. Hotel Villa Maria at Francavilla Sea where a tub fed by three sponts recalls the rough elegance of the Patio of the Leos in Granada 42 I Giardini di Piercesare Bozzalla Canaletto LINEAVERDE

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4: Centro 5 6 Direzionale di Napoli: Asse verde.

In un momento in cui la paesaggistica è di moda 5: U ci stabilimento Fisac Grandate (Como): Fronte strada, parcheggi visitatori e fontana. e la tentazione di trovare scorciatoie facili è in 6: Relais & Chateaux La Collegiata San Gimignano (SI): Vista aerea del parco. agguato, l’opera di Bozzalla ci dimostra che i buoni prodotti sono frutto di una lunga e severa setup landscape and buildings in the factory FISAC at Grandate, where the insertion of a "dry preparazione. fountain" with 40 powerful water jets, surrounded by a gradually slightly descending lawn highlight Bozzalla has also participated in great works: his the natural elements. The project area is defined by is the landscape setup at the Directional Center of a hedge of Berberis julianae and Populus alba Naples, where he has succeeded in dosing the Piramidalis set along the borders and in the choice of bushes on a roof garden decidedly not parking areas, complete a green environment easy to manage for its dimensions and its worthy of the best business parks. technical difficulties above all for the scale. In fact In St. Gimignano the landscapist from Biella takes the relationship between the buildings and the on the challenge of the historical garden. This time green areas could marginalize the characteristics he’s dealing with the recovering of an area of the landscape to mere cosmetic or banal urban neighboring to an ancient building turned into a decoration, while the solutions adopted by Hotel, where the historical memories of the garden Bozzalla give enrichment and dignity to the were limited. Bozzalla restores all that can be present local vegetation. restored, reintroducing the classical forms of the There was more balanced relationship between formal garden " Italian style " which had survived I Giardini di Piercesare Bozzalla Canaletto LINEAVERDE

Immobiliare Neto Biella : Piscina coper- ta / scoperta

and on the place where there was a vegetable structure that makes these operations very garden and an orchard before inserts a swimming simple, using more versatile material better pool-fountain. servine the purpose. Of corse here we are only able to hint at the wide I believe it to be both a beautiful and interesting range of Piercesare Bozzalla’s activity, but in experience to became acquainted with conclusion it is important again to recall Piercesare Bozzalla Canaletto’s gardens. His Porcinai’s lesson. work must make us reflect. In a moment when Centro At the house of important cliente in Biella, the art of landscaping is in fashion and the agrituristico Bozzalla proposes a swimming pool that can be temptation to find easy shortcuts is a trap, the San Fabiano Calcinaia closed in winter and completely open in the work of Bozzalla shows us that the good Poggibonsi summer, operating in times of advanced the products derive from a long and disciplined (SI): piazza technology he create a completely automated preparation. ■ d'ingresso

La Gasparona Breganze (VI): l'ingresso.