Catania faces the sea

Catania owes its origin and its fortune to the proximity of the sea and the mountain, which gave it relevance, identity and aggregation dimension. Over time, the boundary line between the sea and the historic center is blurred becoming a factor of risk more than resource for the community. This detachment was due mainly to the construction of two infrastructures: the railroad and the port, which created a border front between the sea and the life of the city.

The Masterplan redesigns the Waterfront for 4 km, creating a new landmark, making Catania a seaside city again, also thanks to the infrastructural project that provides for the landfill of the railway line in this section.

Putting water as a core of the project means to be well aware of the conditions that will insist on the life of coastal communities in the medium to long term. The attention to the themes of protection from natural cataclysm caused by the sea as the increasingly frequent floods that break down on the city has oriented the design assumptions.

To become the risks associated with water management, a resource of economy, beauty and renewed livability: this is the challenge we have set ourselves to imagine a new meeting place between the city and the sea.

Revealing the waterfront to the city means working on the margins and spaces of the break line. The requalification of the neighboring spaces to the site, and the creation of conviviality spaces, to walk, to make sport, to have fun, will allow to rediscover the urban continuity between sea and city.

The integrated and collaborative work of all members of the group has been crucial to realize an innovative and high-quality project.

Park Associati (urban planning architect, group leader), Consorzio Stabile di Ingegneria R1 (structural engineering and experts in infrastructure and transport), Coprat (energy and plant-engineering strategies and sustainability), Base (landscape architect), Mobility In Chain (experts in mobility, infrastructure and transport), Smart Land (expert in cost control), Prof. Luca Ruggiero, Prof. Gianni Petino e Dott.ssa Teresa Graziano (expert in marketing territoriale), Ing. Mario Salvatore Castruccio Castracani (expert in Criteri Minimi Ambientali).