Giardino in Comune

Giardino in Comune is a symbolic space and an open concept meant to foster participation and reinforce cooperative bonds within the community of Gemona del Friuli. Perpetually growing and in constant change, the community garden embodies the relationship between culture and landscape while serving as a platform for new ideas and small-scale change.

Giardino in Comune was a project taking place in the small, rural town Gemona del Friuli in the pre-alpine region of Italy. Since the reconstruction of the town – carried out after the earthquake of 1976 – it has completely changed its physiognomy. As the urban and the social fabric had been adjusted, new issues and challenges have appeared.

The project investigated the current social landscape of the town with the overall aim to bring back life in an otherwise empty centre. Thanks to a close collaboration with the municipality, it was possible to activate a small green lot in the old centre, a space-in-progress, serving as a platform for starting a dialogue with the local population and other public institutions.

One goal of the project was to gather like-minded people around a common objective and establish collaborative dynamics within the group. Therefore, it was essential to get people involved on a personal level and start an informal exchange through public events: the project was presented at the town’s farmers’ market and at the local high school. Furthermore, every second week a public assembly was held at the community hall in order to allow the citizens to take part in the process. During these meetings, it was possible to organise the next phases of the project together and guarantee a small budget for gradually developing the garden. As of today, Giardino in Comune is part of an education programme coordinated by the local high school in collaboration with the residents of the city.

Time

January 2019

Location

Gemona del Friuli / Italy

Team

Asia Valencic and Lukas Weithas