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2. Award 2022
3. Progettazione urbana

4. ARCHAEOLOGICAL
MEDITERRANEAN BETWEEN
WATERFRONT AND
INFRASTRUCTURE
5. GLORIA CILAURO, FRANCESCA
FILANNINO, YOU ZHI GAO
6. PROGETTAZIONE URBANA
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8. The thesis project stems from the study of history and

archeology in the Mediterranean Sea, characterized by the
coexistence and clash between different peoples. The
archaeological evidence represents the stratification of the
history of the places and gives rise to the genius loci.
Through the mapping of archaeological sites in the
 Mediterranean and the study of 11 cities of Phoenician
foundation, the relationship between today's ports of
Mediterranean cities and their archaeological areas was
investigated, identifying two types of relationship between
the ancient and contemporary city: intra and extra moenia.
Starting from the aforementioned reading, the intervention
area was defined: Marsala and Mozia, representing the two
categories. Furthermore, their geographical proximity and
the history between the two make them a unique system
within the Mediterranean and western Sicily, and at the
same time antinomian due to the location of the
archaeological remains. The readings of the antinomic
system of Marsala and Mozia were fundamental for the
purposes of the intervention strategy and the definition of
the project area, that is, the one between the limit of the
coast and the infrastructures, such as airport, railway and
port.
9. The basic elements of the strategy were the archaeological
remains intra and extra moenia, the future electrification of
the railway line, the urban cycle path on the Boeo seafront,
and the geomorphology of the coastline. The strategy of
intervention is based on five themes: limit, threshold,
connection, double threshold and inclusion. The strategy
starts from the infrastructural limit of the railway through
the inclusion of new tram stations. The goal is to connect
the infrastructures of the port of Marsala and the Trapani-
Birgi airport with the railway line. The infrastructure is
reconnected horizontally at the edge of the coast through
pedestrian and cycle paths, which lead to limited
interventions on the coast. The latter arise from the
context in which they are placed and from the pre-existing
active plans.
10. The project actions proposed on the coast are linked
vertically to each other through the existing cycle path
along the Stagnone. This has been integrated through the
insertion of a new cycle path, which originates from the
Marsala station up to Genna Salt flats along the coast,
where possible. The closure of Marsala’s port at the behest
of the Spaniards in 1575 led to the decline of activities
related to the sea and the spread of viticulture. The city
 develops inland, putting an end to its relationship with the
sea. The proposed interventions want to reconstruct the
link between the city, in particular the historic center, the
archaeological park, and the sea. The boundary of the
Archaeological Park is the limit between the historic
center, rich in archaeological remains in the open, and
Capo Boeo, not allowing easy access to the coast by the
community.
11. The design intent is to generate a connection network
between the remains in the historic center, the Capo Boeo
archaeological park, the sea, and the infrastructure of the
future tramway and the port. The creation of the tram stop
near the ancient Punic moat generates a connection
between the infrastructure and the historic center through
the creation of an urban park within it, from which a
network of routes is created within the historic center.
These lead to the intervention of the Boeo coast park. The
settlement principle of park arises from the urban context
of the city of Marsala. From the road axes adjacent to the
coast, panoramic points are created overlooking the sea, in
order to enhance the relationship with the sea, the landing
place of the modern and ancient city of Lilibeo.
Furthermore, the relationship with the sea is increased
through the reduction of the current carriageway present at
the Boeo promenade in favor of public space, by inserting
an urban cycle path and expanding the pedestrian area.
12. The goal is to generate a new dimension of the city of
Marsala through the connection between the historic
center rich in archaeological remains and the waterfront. In
Phoenician times, the island of Motya was connected to the
mainland by a road that is now submerged, which led to the
necropolis of Birgi. Today the island can be reached
through the piers, located at the Ettore and Infersa salt
flats. The project proposal provides for the insertion of two
new tram stops: Saline Ettore-Infersa and Mozia, which are
connected to the coast through cycle-pedestrian paths, and
the creation of a pier necessary for the new route to the
island of Motya. The temporary connection between the
archaeological remains and the sea was born from the
particular and unique context of Motya and from the
 ancient submerged road. New paths on water are
generated by the following remains: submerged road, house
of mosaics, barracks, Kothon, and tophet, connected to
each other through raised wooden walkways on the island,
which enhance the existing paths.
13. The project proposal’s aim is to exploit the island
through a temporary and reversible intervention, and to
generate a new use of the archaeological remains from the
sea. Thanks to the reading of the history and
archaeological evidence of the city of Marsala and the
island of Mozia, an attempt was made to reconstruct a link
between the city and the sea: first through an intervention
strategy between the limits of the archaeological areas,
the coast and the infrastructures; second, through the
urban and architectural regeneration of the waterfront and
historic center. The interventions on the Punic moat,
Plateia Aelia and Motya’s Kothon try to interpret the signs
of the history in a contemporary key, designing spaces for
public use and architectures that are located between the
past and the present, between the sea and the city,
between the limits.
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26. Credits
27. City: Politecnico di Milano
State:
Client: Architettura Urbanistica Ingegneria delle
Costruzioni
Completion: 2020/2021
Gross Floor Area: mq
Architects:
Design team: