Rethink Heritage

Renovation and regeneration of the fortified system: Cittadella City Walls (Italy) by Patrizia Valle Architect, (Domus Award 2013, Equal Gold Medal). 

Cittadella, a walled city in the Veneto region, was first founded in 1220 by the Municipality of Padua. The author of this project has highlighted how, unlike Castelfranco, in recent years Cittadella has been a major laboratory for the architectural renovation, conservation and revival of a historic centre. In 1994 Studio Valle began the renovation work on the walls, with an intervention project plan in four phases, which coincide with the different areas of the fortified system.

The starting point for this project was an examination of the advanced deterioration observed in the monument. This deterioration mostly took the form of widespread static instability, extensive collapse of the top part of the walls, particularly at the level of the parapet and battlements, and the progressive deterioration of the masonry.

Following a preliminary phase of diagnostic studies and research for the purposes of restoration, a critical approach was applied to the project, aiming to maintain the monument’s status and halt its slow degradation, while also eliminating the pathologies diagnosed.

The restoration, consisting of static consolidation and the thorough review of the mortar, plaster and bricks, has taken extreme care to use compatible materials and construction procedures as similar as possible to those used historically.

Brief analysis of the case:

This is a walled belt of great urban and landscape value, as well as historical and architectural value. The intervention aims to consolidate the wall at a material and structural level, using the same material as the existing walls, brick. After cleaning and consolidating the existing masonry, which is maintained with its antique character, guaranteeing the conservation of the authenticity of the complex, work is carried out on the large existing gaps. The brick used in the reintegration of the gaps in the masonry and in the limited reconstructions of some volumes and in the crowning is an industrial brick used with the clear purpose of making the interventions distinguishable from the existing parts. The intervention also seeks to favour the visitor's approach to the complex by inserting walkways and elements that allow a route to be taken along the wall.