PROJECT 
OVERVIEW

This thesis investigates the urban-landscape identity of Pescocostanzo, Italy, focusing on how local environmental resources and cultural assets can guide a contemporary regeneration strategy. The project proposes a multi-site design intervention aimed at strengthening connectivity, revitalizing heritage structures, and celebrating the fragile yet distinctive landscape of the Apennine region.

Pescocostanzo is a historic mountain town characterized by its high cultural value but limited accessibility. The area suffers from disconnection from major urban centers, seasonal dependency, economic constraints, and a landscape highly vulnerable to seismic activity. These challenges informed the project’s goal: to create a resilient urban-landscape network that links key nodes of cultural significance while enhancing the visitor and community experience.

The study focuses on three strategic sites:

Piazzale degli Sciatori
The project reimagines the existing ski parking area as the culminating point of the cultural route. By relocating vehicular parking, the space is transformed into a public plaza shaped by the rugged geomorphology of the Altipiani Abruzzesi. Large boulders, sourced from local geological formations, structure the space while revealing the site’s seismic character.
A fluid pedestrian and cycling path contrasts with the rigidity of the surrounding topography, guiding visitors toward panoramic platforms that frame key mountain features and visible fault lines. The redesigned plaza functions as an open-air landscape observatory and a seasonal social space.

Stazione Rivisondoli–Pescocostanzo
As a key threshold into the region, the largely underused railway station becomes the first major intervention of the cultural route. A new linear structure is introduced between the two existing station buildings, forming a cohesive ensemble that echoes the rhythm and materiality of the historical railway.
The proposal accommodates an exhibition centre, restaurant, shop, and bicycle rental hub, transforming the station into a node that activates mobility across the three valleys. The design reinvigorates the site while respecting the station’s historical presence and the harsh winter conditions that define this stretch of the “Trans-Siberian Railway of Italy.”

Eremo di Sant’Antonio
The cultural route continues through the Valle di Quarto Grande toward the Hermitage of Saint Anthony. The proposal preserves the integrity of the historic structure while establishing a clearer approach sequence that emphasizes its spiritual and cultural significance.
A new lookout platform sits discreetly beside the hermitage, offering alternative views of the valley and the Bosco di Sant’Antonio. The design employs contrasting materials to guide visitors from the everyday realm toward the sacred forest, creating a gradual spatial and experiential transition that reinforces the symbolic threshold of the Eremo.

Together, these interventions form a landscape framework that is sensitive to heritage, environmentally grounded, and responsive to the social needs of the region. The project positions landscape and culture as active drivers for sustainable development, proposing a slow, immersive, and locally rooted way of engaging with Pescocostanzo and its surrounding valleys


CREDITS

Guide: Prof. Sara Protosoni