Geographical Structures and Urban-Rural Settlements: A Design for the Sarno River and its Plain

Abstract

The research presented in this paper deals with the theme of the reclamation of a territory which, though rich in memories of the past and in important traces of its country’s and settlement’s culture, is today largely degraded. The study area – in South Italy, Naples District – is the plain of the Sarno River. It lies on the south of Mount Vesuvius, between the slopes of the volcano, the Picentini mountains and the sea coast, with the river as central axis. It is simply an area full of historical memories: Pompei stood there with its harbour on the river, Stabiae and Nuceria, and there are the remains of several centuries that left marks on which the territory was built. Since ancient times it has been crossed by major communication routes between north and south. The Sarno River, with its central axis and an extensive network of tributaries and canals, was the principal resource of the area. Due to the abundance of water and the rich volcanic soil, it has always been a land of specialized crops and of manufacturing production. Even today it is an important agricultural area, and a landscape of interest. But, by now, the Sarno River Plain, especially towards the sea, is a territory invaded by uncontrolled urbanization, with high-density zones of poor-quality buildings, which have some cities between them. This carelessness has made the river the first cause of the ecological disaster of this area (with waste, industrial and food poisons): a situation of a typical urban territory sprawled and polluted.

We think that an important design issue here is thinking of the Sarno River as the soul of the region, the powerful element that still can restore the lost identity of the area, so that – after the rehabilitation has already begun – it will be possible to redevelop the relationships between urban areas, rebuild their hierarchies, and restore the character of agricultural areas and the existing characteristic nature, by protecting and enhancing them.