Restoration of Doria Castle, Dolceacqua (Italy)
Restoration of Doria Castle, Dolceacqua (Italy) by LD+SR architetti (Domus Award 2015, Equal Silver Medal).
Following the widespread restoration actions carried out in the early 1990s, work in the period between 2012 and 2015 focused on the restoration and consolidation of certain portions of the main external walls of the Castle (the North “vela”, bastion of Savoy), recovering the main wide open spaces around the complex, and setting up a system of visitor trails leading to different vantage points for the landscapes surrounding the monument. The main asset of the Castle is its unique relationship with its surroundings. The appeal was such that Claude Monet repeatedly visited Dolceacqua to capture the bridge and Castle in a famous painting dating from 1884 now on display at the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris. The Castle sits overlooking the village below and is an excellent vantage point to control the river of the Nervia Valley. The restoration and consolidation of extreme degradation in masonry were a prominent feature of the work completed in 2015. Any structural reinforcement or static improvement required became an architectural project, transforming iron elements which, depending on each individual case, have become paths, passages, or reconstructed sections of wall where elements are missing or have become detached. These items are always perceived as new elements, reversible, always identifiable but harmonious with the whole.
Brief analysis of the case:
It is a castle with an important urban presence and a strong connection with the city. The interventions carried out are fundamentally aimed at structural consolidation and accessibility to the complex. Both aspects are resolved with metallic structures and wooden boards, being completely different materials from the existing ones. The intervention is clearly distinguishable from the existing ones. On the other hand, cleaning and consolidation work has been carried out on the masonry, sometimes involving grouting, filling gaps and small additions with materials similar to the existing ones.