Working in historic gardens implies the need to evaluate the heritage of the place, its character and its history. Many characterizing elements will have to be maintained and enhanced, in this way influencing the new landscape project; other existing elements will constitute criticalities to be resolved.
In general, we will try to redesign the places without distorting their original character whilst eliminating superfetations and additions that have compromised their aesthetic value or that make their management complicated. Much of the vegetation that has grown spontaneously or has been introduced over the decades without a clear landscape project, will have to be eliminated in a more general cleaning and reorganization exercise.
Similar to the work of the restorer, the work of the landscape architect will consist in bringing to light the original spirit of the places, eliminating the encrustations that various owners and often decades of abandonment may have caused.
Furthermore, it is a question of updating the garden to make it a place enjoyable by the owners who live there today and who necessarily have different needs and lifestyles compared to those of past eras.
In this project, all the most valuable trees and large shrubs have been kept, while many elements of little interest have been eliminated to expand the spaces by creating visual openings. For this purpose, large areas of turf were introduced instead of gravel paths.
Thanks to the possibility of reusing wastewater from the home and creating rainwater accumulation basins, it is now possible to make the use of turf sustainable in contexts where in the past this was not technically feasible.
Curvilinear and soft shapes were used in the design of the planted areas for a more natural and less constructed effect. The historic labyrinth, located in the most intimate part of the park, has been recovered and enhanced, while the swimming pool area has been completely redesigned to meet the needs of the current owners.
The end result is a garden that combines aspects of the past with contemporary elements in a natural process of evolution which does not forget its historical roots, but that is aimed at the people who live there in the present.