Green. Monte Stella Park, redevelopment work begins
With the project “Monte Stella - Birth of a model of shared protection” naturalistic interventions and involvement of the territory
Milan, October 21 2019 – The “Monte Stella: birth of a shared protection model” project was officially presented this morning. 2020 marks the 60th anniversary of the construction of Monte Stella, one of the identifying symbols of the city of Milan. Designed by architect Piero Bottoni, the park was conceived from the accumulation of rubble resulting from the bombings of the Second World War and the final demolition of the bastions. Frequented by millions of people over the years, today the park requires urgent maintenance interventions, which will be necessary in the future so as not to limit the usability of this important urban green lung.
The “Monte Stella: birth of a model of shared protection” program, whose implementation is made possible thanks to the support of the Milan Community Foundation, intends to renew and redevelop the park between now and December 2020, involving the local communities in a of shared care, enjoyment and protection. The primary objective is to restore and secure the current micro-disasters and some semi-natural environments, always paying attention to the protection of the biodiversity of the place. Secondly, the project has a social aim, that of developing a collaborative spirit of care, to educate in respectful behavior of green spaces. The strength of the program lies precisely in the activation of a network of organisations, committees, schools and private individuals who care about the territory and will be involved in various activities, including, to name a few, the identification of an urban natural oasis, new furnishings, integration of the tree and shrub heritage, school-work alternation programmes.
The organization of the project is managed by six partners: Ambienteacqua Onlus (leader) Municipality of Milan, AIPIN, CAI Milan, Foundation of the Order of Architects of Milan, Not Reserved. The partners' activities are also supported by other important entities: Civic Museum of Natural History, Villaggio della Madre e del Fanciullo, CAI-SEM, LIPU Milan Section, GA.RI.WO - Giardino dei Giusti, Alpini Association, Scout CNGEI, Association Provincial Beekeepers.
“Monte Stella is one of the most evocative, symbolic and extensive parks in Milan – declares the Green Councilor Pierfrancesco Maran –. Due to its naturalistic conformation it is also one of the most in need of maintenance and redevelopment interventions. We are therefore very satisfied with this project, born from the collaboration with entities active in the area, which will not only improve the naturalistic quality and usability of the park, but will directly involve citizens, making them participants in the regeneration".
The project is carried out with the contribution of Fondazione di Comunità Milano, for which the Arch. Sandro Balducci, Councilor of the Foundation: “With its first call, the Milan Community Foundation financed 48 projects for over 2 million euros. The supported projects include interventions capable of impacting the social fabric; the elements that characterize them are the focus on young people, the valorization of the territory, the attention to the environment. The Monte Stella project - birth of a shared protection model was able to combine these elements together with the ability to integrate different visions in a single intervention intended to qualify a green space, rich in biodiversity, which offers well-being to the inhabitants and performs an important function in the city ecosystem. The support of the Community Foundation will allow us to start restoration and maintenance interventions, respecting the extraordinary history of Monte Stella; it also intends to activate citizens because the care of our natural and landscape heritage must be everyone's imperative. A tangible reference for raising young people who are rightly concerned about the future of the planet, but also attentive custodians of their neighborhood park."
Finally, Doctor Alberto Guzzi – Technical Director of the Project: “Monte Stella, the most diversified and one of the largest green lungs in the city of Milan, requires a complex and organic restoration and maintenance intervention to consolidate the stability of the slopes and regulate rainwater correctly; the intervention must respect the principle of hydraulic invariance so that rainwater is intercepted, reducing the current discharge into the city sewer system. The maintenance intervention of the Municipal Administration will be directed towards the use of the most current criteria of Naturalistic Engineering, which develops projects with the dual objective of securing erosive phenomena and enhancing the degree of naturalness of the places. Technical measures, already tested, will also be suggested to the municipal administration, which will also allow disabled people to travel, independently or with support, the perimeter path of Monte Stella: it will be the first creation in Lombardy of this length in a public park."
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Updated: 21/10/2019