The next beautiful city I visited was Ostuni, popularly known as the white city of Italy.
Because of its history Ostuni, has the urban fragrance of Greek and Norman dynasty. Built in hilltops, the city has the features of terrain settlement, planned and built with the flow of natural terrains. The medieval city characteristics of row housing high urban density, narrow street lanes can be well observed in the city. The overall area of Ostuni is visibly separable as old core citadel along with new old settlements separated with main road running from E-W, axis. The citadel is protected with old forts and towers.
Due to its strategic location, since from the history, Brindisi has served as the important port city for the trade and commerce in the country and once used to be Greek settlement before Roman conquered. The overall territory of Brindisi can be observed as historic core city, new urban expansion, the seaport city and the flat agricultural lands. However, my visit and observations are concerned within the historic core city of Brindisi.
These piazzas are mostly approached by narrow street lanes and located strategically to create sense of surprise for the passersby. The Basilicas in these piazzas are the major elements that not only create sense of amusement but also stand as the dominant features of Roman Empire. They are strategically well located to ensure protection from major threats. These open spaces are still viable and active. More than left over spaces, the open spaces here are seen much coordinated with the built form.
Many examples of retaining old buildings through redefining the functional activities have been observed in both the cities. Coordination of built-up space with buildings was strategically designed to regulate functional activities in the streets, pathways and alleys. Though many buildings have transformed and rebuilt but the architectural style has been harmonized with its historic settings standing tall on the foundation of history and embodying the identity of the city.
Ar. Brinda Shrestha
The continuous adaptive use of buildings as per time and changes through incorporation of its historical essence, is what makes the city beautiful with its originality. Preexisting conditions are renovated for economic and utility reasons. Many functional activities seems to be reused as change of time, for example the old storage rooms, stables have been beautifully converted to shops, restaurants and galleries. However, we can also see century old shops like shoemaker shop, being functional.
OBSERVING ITALIAN CITIES - BRINDISI AND OSTUNI.
Mostly rough natural stones are used as the finishing materials of the streets inside the neighborhood, while peripheral roads are blacktopped for large vehicles and buses. Clear demarcation on the streets and the layout designing, differences also adds dynamism to the streets. Paths are directed through uniform row housing of four to five story. The mixed use of buildings with commercial grounfloor activities make streets visually more communicating for people walking on the streets. Footpaths and on street parking facilitates people walking in the street with more sense of safety .
Streets, Open space and built forms:
In most of the European cities, street activities in the urban neighborhood are coupled with reliable and consistent public mass transportation, such as public trains, metro and public buses. Narrow and compact street network followed with on street parking is the major street feature of most of the European core cities, which can also be seen in the old city core of Brindisi. Within the core city, major two types of road can be seen, Boulevard streets and narrow lanes. The major roads are accessible for private vehicles and provided with on street parking. Taxis and other family four wheeler car are accessible to most of the lanes and the roads. The main streets
roads and junctions are well planned as social space and as place to pass by as well as place to rest, interact and observe different activities of the streets.
Streets as social space:
Use of street furniture such as benches, greeneries, offset street space, are used to make street a social space. The traffic islands with greeneries make streets more viable and social.
Identity Through Architectural And Urban Built Characteristics.
Introduction:
Urban heritage and buildings are significant contributors to the city’s development primarily in the cities where its identity have been shaped by heritage. According to Wikipedia, "heritage" refers to historical events or processes that have a special meaning in-group memory.” The memory that is set by both tangible and intangible form of events and the processes. Each city has its own unique culture, history art and architecture that define the city, its residents and the people. The city develops over time and the process of city development continues with time dimensions. Architecture and built form of the city are those tangible heritage that embodies social, cultural and historical values of the city, and reveals its uniqueness defined through identity. It is this identity factor that makes each city different and significant. When in Rome, I was thrilled by the essence of roman ethos in the air with that magnificent work of heritage conservation and rejuvenation to the present day functional use. It was inspiring to visit the city that had history of thousands of years and still continues to thrive with its historical spirit along with the integration of modern technological advancement. The more I roam around the city the more I happen to compare with my Kathmandu medieval towns devised from similar planning principle by Malla's and Licchavis in its ancient history. The temple centric or palace centric towns, fortified cities, gridiron planning of cities, the dhungedharas (similar to aqueducts in Rome). Though Kathmandu towns have their own religious social and cultural attributes of planning.
As at present, Nepal is in the sensitive stage of urban development, from the planner’s perspective from Nepal, there is so much to learn from the city planning of this beautiful country. The fact that they share common planning principle of medieval and renaissance period aspired me to understand more. The cities in Italy, exemplifies the complimentary relationship between historical identities with modern development .It is well worth to feel the urban development process in the city that shows the world that complex relationship between historical identities and modern development can coexist without compromising each other’s value. The existence of these cities exhibits a fine example of how to interlink modern infrastructural demand of the time without compromising its historical urban environment. My recent visit in Italy (southern part: Brindisi, Lecce, Ostuni and Rome) fascinated me with the urban scenario of Italy in present globalized world. Picturesque and quaint country settlement in Brindisi and Ostuni were much evocative to compare with the historical urban settlement in city core Kathmandu. Ostuni reminded me of one of the core medieval Newar settlement in Kirtipur, Kathmandu. Similar to Ostuni the settlement was built on hilltop with peripheral road network surrounding the settlement. Compact planning, row housing, centre open spaces, low rise high density, flat agricultural land were some of the few features I could relate to, nevertheless they both have their own cultural and social norms to reflect their identity, art and architecture. But in country like Nepal these settlements are in verge of destruction and disappearance due to weak planning policies, weak legal implementation of byelaws, haphazard urban development and mass destruction suffered from earthquake 2015.
It is well worth to feel Ancient Urban built form that illustrates the modern day city planning, expressing the pronounced power and dominance of Roman Empire .The fact that medieval and renaissance settlement planning principle still thrives today along with integration of modern technological demands of the time, is what gives the cities of Italy, its proud identity. The text below tries to describe my views and observations on two cities I visited in the south of Italy.
Reflections and conclusions
To a person coming from developing country like Nepal, Italy exemplifies the possible best degree of successful completeness of its historic cities and the heritage. Though there may be numerous flaws and criticism inside, to the outsider like me, both the cities have retained its strong historic identity. Both the cities I visited, at its best, have echoed its local identity as far as its central core is concerned. Though, the immediate settlement to the core city does exhibit to the clone- town concept of roman cities, however, the new urban expansion seem to add a variance to these cities. In Brindisi, the high-rise, multistory apartments, the commercial complex, the hospitals were part of the variance in respect to closed villas of Ostuni.Despite the fact that both centre has suffered waves of historical construction and destructions, yet the present city still looks and feels like a unique city of the past. In both the cities, the major urban planning scheme is set to ensure the diversion of traffic from the historic core, while some form of traffic do pass through these centers, specially in morning and evening but generally they synchronizes with the movement of pedestrians.
Streets, Open space and built forms:
Urban built form of Ostuni reflects the stunning beauty of Mediterranean architecture with series of natural terrains, level differences, uphill and downhill movement, narrow roads alleys and arches. The green farmlands of olive sets the perfect background for white wash buildings which stands out perfectly. The mud brown texture of monumental buildings amidst the white urban form of the city is another genuine urban design features blending and yet standing out with each other. The greeneries, the white urban form and the brown monumental buildings together with natural terrains make a perfect blend, executing harmonious relationship and setting complete background and foreground concept. Placed in the hilltop, the built form follows the concentric trend and it, clearly depicts its historical and artistic qualities. The city executes the progressive expansion in the history.
As in most of European cities, allocation of on street parking in boulevard and in narrow lanes of dense neighborhood is seen to be taken as strategy to control speeds of the vehicles.
Open Spaces:
In Brindisi we mostly find Piazzas and other soft open spaces marked with street junctions as open spaces. These soft spaces are seen to be providing a sense of relief to the dense urban settlement. Traditional piazzas are the city squares or open spaces formed due to intersections of two or more roads or from where major roads are radiates to the city.
Vegetation, water bodies, artistic fountains and sculptures and street furnitures are part of these piazzas. These design elements have helped to pause the movement of people by creating sense of amusements, appreciations and relaxations, from continuous movements. Mostly these piazzas are at walk able distance from each urban blocks however, small family four wheelers cars are made accessible passing through these piazzas. In a piazza, which has the important Basilicas, using it as community open spaces preserves the open spaces.
OPEN SPACES-
Built in neighborhood settlement, the open spaces in Ostuni seem to be more lively and majestic with the display of day-to-day activities of people. The soft open spaces marked with squares, street junctions, parks can be experienced in the city. These squares are very strategically planned, as to create element of surprise and the center around which the other buildings are planned.
Buildings form the important urban blocks. Its architecture depicts visual embodiment of social, cultural and historical perception of the city. Ancient historical buildings in dilapidated conditions, new buildings with contemporary architecture and restored old historical buildings with adaptive reuse of modern functions, are some of the types of buildings. Mostly these buildings in city core have been used in mix functions mostly with commercial activities in ground floor. The commercial ground floor activities are well synchronized with the
2. OSTUNI
Ostuni square with Saint Orenzo column is the main central street square with streets passing through it. Along the north of the squares, is the stairs, not only leading down the terrain but also well planned as amphitheater, underneath of which is placed the modern public toilets. The traffic islands on the streets are planned to ensure maximum social activities and ground level activities of pedestrians. With restaurants, shops and commune buildings, the square is more prioritized for public activities than for road traffic.
1. BRINDISI:
Unlike Brindisi, fixed patterns of grid planning are not seen here, however, the irregular urban blocks in concentric and radial patterns can be seen. The oldest settlement and other settlement with modern day expansion can be seen clearly divided by major roads that runs east west and passing through central squares, Commune de Ostuni. The central train station located at around 2.5 km and nearby public buses are the main public transports of the city.
Built form:
The urban built form of Brindisi is highly characterized by Greek, Roman and medieval built forms. Urban design of roman cities mainly follows the principle design for public and military defense mechanism. Rectangular orthogonal grids of equal distance, Perimeter defense walls with view tower, Clear demarcation of N-S and EW axial roads, Coordination among urban buildings and spaces are some of the features observed in Brindisi, as Medieval cities. In Brindisi, though the clear signature of roman built form is not found, as it is an invaded city, the influence of roman compounded elements do mark the city’s identity.
Streets:
Street networks in Ostuni have been used very dramatically as integration with the built forms. Walking down the street networks in the city, the passers by feel as if they are moving around the open museum observing the Mediterranean cultures and revival of history with modern living need of the time.
The major road runs around the perimeter of the hilltop settlement with narrow street networks and alleys inside the neighborhood.
The built forms of Ostuni have been restored so as to showcase the uniqueness of identity for people walking through roads. Alleys have been well synchronized with the built structures and prioritizing pedestrians and the soft vehicles. Walking in the streets people would feel as if they are roaming inside the passage of museum with live displays of culture, art architecture and lifestyle of people in Ostuni.