H Y B R I D PARKS a b i l i t i e s s y n e r g i e s performances 03NL 03 11/2013 THE PROVINCE OF FERRARA Piacenza Ferrara Parma Reggio Emilia Bologna Ravenna Modena Rimini Forlì-Cesena EMILIA-ROMAGNA ACTIONS the province REGION AND ACTIVITIES of ferrara Emilia-Romagna is located in Emilia-Romagna Region is very active A landscape vast and quiet as the the north of Italy and hosts about in the development of activities which plain over which the Province of Fer- 4,405,000 inhabitants. It includes aim at enhancing and qualifying re- rara extends, a territory born from two historical regions: “Emilia”, gional landscape and environment. a balance between earth and wa- which encompasses the provinces ter, in the Northeastern tip of the of Piacenza, Parma, Reggio Emilia, Through the Piano Territoriale Paesis- Emilia Romagna region, formed by Modena, Bologna and Ferrara; and tico (Territorial Landscape Plan) of a sequence of different landscapes: “Romagna” which includes the re- Emilia-Romagna, approved in 1993, cultivated fields, cities of art, for- maining provinces of Ravenna, Forlì- the Region has been focusing on im- ests, valleys, pine forests, up to the Cesena and Rimini. However, there proving and developing the region- seaside resorts along the coast. is a territorial reorganization on the al territory and landscape while way, which could change the current protecting both the cultural iden- The Province of Ferrara is located territorial planning of the Region. tity and the integrity of the territo- in the south-eastern part of the Po Emilia-Romagna is one of the rich- ry itself. Therefore, every landscape Valley where the naturalistic beau- est regions in Italy due either to its should be improved and transform ties - the river Po, the flat landscape, agricultural, tourism and produc- according to the natural, historical the Comacchio Valleys, the peace- tive propensity and to the several and cultural area in which it belongs, ful countryside - and the wonderful small and medium-sized enter- in order not to destroy our communi- historic heritage have always made prises widespread throughout the ties’ territorial values. the territory very fascinating, so that territory. Emilia-Romagna is now planning a it became source of inspiration for It is well-known in the world for the new and updated Piano Territoriale many artists through the centuries. distribution of some of its most im- Paesistico. On the eastern edge of the province, portant products, such as the Parmi- where the amazing Po Delta lies, you giano-Reggiano, Parma ham, Ferrari can also relax on the beach and en- and Ducati. joy the nightlife in the seven seaside Because of the global economic cri- resorts called Lidi di Comacchio. sis, Emilia-Romagna’s GDP has de- creased by about 5%, in line with the national average. However, this Italian Region plays a leading role in www.flytoromagna.com external trade and in the production www.unife.it of manufactured goods. NL 03 11/2013 | 2 1 their exclusion from social life creation of green corridors and the HP focUS: SOCIAL and, therefore, to promote social improvement of public accessibility. VEGETABLES inclusion. For instance, cycle lanes and paths Considering all the existing exam- can represent a solution either to the GARDENS ples, there is evidence that they have problem of access entry and of their transformed positively urban areas. lack of aesthetic qualities. Therefore, The participation of the Emilia-Ro- They have had a great impact on ter- it is necessary to plan a new style and magna Region to the Hybrid Parks ritory and on landscape, either by re- design in terms of landscape and ac- projec focuses on social vegetable generating the environment of both cessibility. gardens, as elements of local territo- urban and peri-urban spaces and Furthermore, we focus on raising ry and landscape. This kind of garden by regaining abandoned areas. For awareness and consensus on the can represent an ecological and en- instance, thanks to social vegetable cultural and environmental values vironmental turning point, charac- gardens, it has been possible to en- of allotment gardens, in order to re- terized by strong social, cultural and large green areas, to regenerate the duce speculation on these areas. pedagogical features. In fact, they ground and also to link the city with In addiction, we would like to extend represent both a social develop- the outskirts. However, they are char- the use of public gardens also to ment tool for inclusive politics and acterized by some negative features other social groups. For instance, ei- also an element of environmental which should be improved. First of ther elderly, young people and kids or urban renewal to enhance qual- all, the access is difficult, as they are can take advantages of social vegeta- ity of life and improve the land- usually fenced. Secondly, they still ble gardens. scape of the territory. represent a weak typology of land Furthermore, since allotments are use in opposition to the expansion globally widespread, it would be Social vegetable gardens are widely pressure of the construction industry. worth creating a network of veg- spread in Emilia-Romagna Region: Last but not least, they often lack of etable gardens in order to boost 14.000 gardens out of 18.000 are lo- aesthetic quality. activities to change positively the cated in our territory, mostly in the peri-urban and urban landscape. outskirts. In our country, the majority We aim at including this tyoe of cul- As a first step, the Landscape Office of them are located in public areas tivated areas within the category of of the Emilia-Romagna Region re- for social scopes. parks and gardens. The same recog- cently launched a public initiative Allotments have been created for nition and dignity, which parks and “AAA: Coltivatori di paesaggi quotidi- elderly or retired people for spe- gardens have, can be given to so- ani” in order to map local initiatives of cific social needs, in order to reduce cial vegetable gardens by both the horti-culture (*). Front page. Historical map of the city (© www.skyscrapercity.com) 1. Allotments in the city (© www.matteolepore.it ) 2. The success of urban vegetable gardens also convinces BolognaFiere, which is expec- ted to allocate a portion of its land property to the practice of agriculture. The empty areas around the Fair District could be managed by some of 3,364 persons who are nowadays on a waiting list (© www.emiliaromagna24news.it) (*) “AAA: Coltivatori di paesaggi quotidiani / Everyday landscapes farmers” was launched in August 2012 in order to gather information on on-going experiences of social vegetable gardens and their relation with green spaces: allotments and shared gardens, awareness- raising and dissemination activities, academic 2 projects and training courses. NL 03 11/2013 | 3 RY TO HIS 3 The origin of Ferrara is uncertain, it axis, along the banks of the Po River, ferrara: was probably settled by the inhab- with longitudinal streets and many CitY of the itants of the lagoons at the mouth of cross streets around which the medi- Po river. There are two early centres eval city was organized. Renaissance of settlement, one round the cathe- dral, the other, the castrum bizantino, The most significant characteristic Ferrara is situated 50 km north-north- being the San Pietro district, on the of Ferrara’s urban history rests on east of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, opposite shore, where the Primaro the fact that it developed from the a branch channel of the main stream water stream empties into the Volano 14th century onwards and, for the of the Po River. The town has broad canal. first time in Europe, on the basis streets and numerous palaces dat- In the 15th and 16th centuries it of planning regulations that are in ing from the 14th and 15th centuries, became an intellectual and artis- use nowadays in all modern towns. when it hosted the court of the House tic centre that attracted the great- This type of development is known of Este. For its beauty and cultural est minds of the Italian Renais- as addizione; the third phase was im- importance it has been qualified sance. Here, Piero della Francesca, plemented in 1492, making Ferrara by UNESCO as World Heritage Jacopo Bellini and Andrea Mantegna the only planned Renaissance town Site: the historic center was in fact decorated the palaces of the House to have been completed. conferred this honor in 1995, being of Este. The humanist concept of The street network and the enclos- denominated a “City of the Renais- the “ideal city” came to life here ing walls are closely linked with sance”, considering that the site is in the neighbourhoods built from the palaces, the churches, and the of outstanding universal value, be- 1492 onwards by Biagio Rossetti gardens. Throughout the 16th cen- ing a Renaissance city, remarkably according to the new principles of tury the city was planned with the planned, which has retained its ur- perspective. The completion of this aim of making it a future “capital”. ban fabric virtually intact. The devel- project marked the birth of modern Its evolution came to an end after the opments in town planning expressed town planning and influenced its 17th century under papal adminis- in the city were to have a profound subsequent development. tration, and the city did not undergo influence on the development of ur- any extensions for almost three cen- ban design throughout the succeed- Among the great Italian cities, Fer- turies. The city plan (1492) provided ing centuries. In 1999, the listing was rara is the only to have an original for doubling its area, an expansion extended to include the area of the plan that is not derived from a Ro- limited to the south of the castle and Po Delta and the “Delizie”, court resi- man layout.