Belvedere della Turba - Ortigia
Located on Bastion Cannamela in the Historical City Center of Syracuse, the Island of Ortigia, “Belvedere della Turba” features a small Piazzetta by the sea, along the waterfront “Lungomare di Levante”, previously used as an informal parking lot. The project aims to highlight the beauty of this area as a resource for the historical center and transform it in public space, offering a pedestrian area facing the Mediterranea sea. This location was previously occupied by the ancients walls of the city. We hope this project can be an example of how the Lungomare di Levante of Syracuse can be Re-Thinked as Public Space, dedicated to pedestrians and not to cars. We will also reconnect the city to the sea with a new cantilevered staircase to the small beach “Spiaggetta della Turba”.
Staging ordinary situations:
The space is modest and featured by promiscuous elements assembled through bricolage operations, seemingly arranged along an incoherent trajectory in a subjective coincidence. Three "objet trouvé" rocks serve as reminders of the invisible presence of nature that once existed, and now hidden in the anthropized environment of Ortigia. They can be used as informal benches or table for ordinary situations.
In contrast, the circular podium is reminiscent of "Music Kiosks" often found in public plazas in small villages, allowing for informal or improvised performances. The podium offers users an elevated perspective overlooking the sea horizon, the sunrise, Maniace Castle, and the Plemmirio Peninsula. It also serves as a relaxing spot to recline and contemplate the ever-shifting movements of clouds illuminated by the Mediterranean light. Atop the podium, the inscription "Pensare, Planare" ("To Think, To Soar"), gifted by an artist friend, fosters endless conversations and contemplation in front of the stunning seascape.
The irregular alignment of paved limestone tiles, following the natural contours of the site, a former Bastion, is accentuated by distinct scattered geometric stone tiles, almost hidden and invisible in the pattern of the pavement: a triangle indicating access to a future staircase that will lead to the currently inaccessible beach, a circle symbolizing solitude within the space, and a perfect square representing an imaginary stage for two individuals engaged in conversation.
