A large pond was created in the old loading area of an abandoned gravel pit, constituting the re-emergence of the ancient landscape after many years of the land’s disfigurement.  

This work is only the latest modification made by humans in the area, but it is also the only one that acts as a bridge through history because it restores meaning to the local toponym “Stagno” (which in Italian means “large pond”), where this type of environment had not been present for decades following land reclamations.

Cases of rehabilitation of a place’s historical name (“toponym”) after years of non-use are known, although infrequent. In this case, on the contrary, the quality and beauty of the original landscape have been restored to a site that still retains its old old name.

From an aesthetic point of view, the artwork became a new and important point of reference for the entire peri-urban park in which it was built. The serene and, at the same time, welcoming appearance of this new natural site contrasts sharply with the forced and banal geometry of the surrounding spaces, due to the excessive number of rest areas equipped with tables and benches, the wide concrete-tiled cycle path, the countless lampposts in the lawns, the poorly kept bordering vegetable allotments, etc.

Category

Work-Site

Author

Carlo Scoccianti

Area of intervention

Stagno, Lastra a Signa (Florence).

Status before intervention

Loading area of an abandoned gravel pit. 

Type of intervention

Construction of a seasonal wetland in a large peri-urban park.

Work status

Completed (2005).

Authorities/agencies involved

- Committee for the WWF Oases of the Florence area

- Municipality of Lastra a Signa

- Publiacqua S.p.A.

Main bioindicators used to monitor the ecological functionality of the work-site

- Amphibians: refuge and breeding.

- Waders: stopover during migration.

- Rails: stopover during migration, nesting.