Verona- The upgrading of the ex barracks in the Santa Marta and Passalacqua area

The retraining of Passalacqua and S. Marta former military barracks represents the biggest urban planning upgrading within the magisterial walls ever fulfilled in Verona since the end of the war . The project area is located in Veronetta district - south east of the old town centre that has known as an UNESCO heritage site since the year 2000: the reason of this choice is because Verona is a fortified city showing different stages throughout European history.  The development of Verona fortifications are evidence in the project area: starting from the wide mural belt that included and defended the entire stretch of ‘Campofiore’ - desired  by Alberto and Cangrande della Scala at the end of 1200’s- enough to contain a growing city for the next five centuries. At the beginning of the year 500, the reinforcement of the wall was carried out, a project desired by the Senate of Venice. This was carried out by the most innovated project that ended at the beginning of the 1600’s. Finally, the former bakery and the two silo appendages were realized between 1863 and 1865 by the Austrians, when Verona was part of the Lombardy-Veneto reign, Verona didn’t only make up the quadrilateral  pin but was called to be a logistic base and supply the Habsburg troops, an army of 120,000 men.

M.P. & T. Engineering won a European competition that allowed the realization of this project.

The objectives were:

• demolition of severals and inhomogeneous existing buildings characterized by none historical architectural value.

• settlement of an urban plant constituting new blocks on southern area of Veronetta district and giving particular attention to the fronts facing the park and the magisterial wall.

• creation of a new gathering centre that becomes a reference point for the southern side of the    neighbourhood in order to balance  Piazza S Toscana, close to Porta Vescovo.

• development of  an urban park within the vast area of Passalacqua barracks to be considered as integral and organic part of the future magisterial wall project.

• design a route plan that is a structural support of the project and integrated with neighbourhood in order to make the new area permeable from both paths and spatial aspects.

Lot surface: 264,000 m2

Demolished volume: 236,000 m3

Built volume: 152,740 m3

Park Surface: 183,000 m2

Cycle path route: 4,000 ml

Safety of Magisterial wall belt : 1,700 ml

Car parks: 1.450 n.

2009

Private company