THE GARDEN ON THE LAVA. Restoration and enhancement of the Ettore Paternò del Toscano park
Thanks to the Public Notice for the presentation of Intervention Proposals for the restoration and enhancement of historic parks and gardens to be financed under the PNRR, Mission 1 – Digitalization, innovation, competitiveness and culture, Component 3 – Culture 4.0 (M1C3), Measure 2 “Regeneration of small cultural sites, cultural, religious and rural heritage”, Investment 2.3: “Programmes to enhance the identity of places: historic parks and gardens” funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU of 31 December 2021, the project ‘THE GARDEN ON THE LAVA’ restoration and enhancement of the Ettore Paternò del Toscano park was drawn up, which is divided into two directions in recognition of the different characteristics of the garden area:
One relating to the area that we like to call the “Ettore Paternò del Toscano Collection”, in which some homogeneous areas are found: the so-called “Bosco Etneo”, characterized by trees and Mediterranean scrub typical of the Etna region; the “Rock Garden” with a morphology due to the outcrop of a lava flow; the area with mixed Mediterranean and subtropical vegetation; the small area with the presence of several specimens of Cactaceae; and finally some appurtenant and residual areas relating to existing buildings.
Another area relating to the expansion, which instead concerns the area towards the west (which falls within the municipality of Tremestieri Etneo) where it is still possible to trace the morphology of agricultural origin (almost flat areas, terraces contained by the remains of the typical dry stone retaining walls) and sporadic arboreal vegetation. This new area is defined as an Urban Park, for its public vocation and social function.
This area, which was uncultivated, is subject to transformation interventions from a former agricultural area to a component of the park where, in addition to new green areas, some services are located, which, although necessary to expand the use of the park, could not be located in the historical part.
Here, a vegetable garden and an orchard have been created that precede the “theater of aromas” along whose steps aromatic plants will be planted; a parking area near which a visitor center completed by a photovoltaic pergola necessary to guarantee the energy autonomy of the park and an educational greenhouse; finally, an area with citrus trees and beehives and therefore a field of wild flowers.
In the rationalization of access to the park, an intervention with a precise emblematic character is also planned: the reconfiguration of the space in front of the small church on Via Roma obtained through the simple retreat of the surrounding wall thus obtaining a space of respect. This is thus once again obtained the connection of this ignored artifact with the city.
In the historic garden, on the other hand, restoration work was carried out on the artifacts: rasole, saie, stairs, paths and retaining walls of the terraces, using the same materials and construction techniques already present in the park such as lava stone and beaten earth. Replacing the less appropriate existing elements, such as cement and bitumen with others more akin to the building and agricultural tradition of Etna, although sometimes using them in a more modern way.
The restoration, redevelopment and extraordinary maintenance interventions of the plant component of the garden were very important. Mainly extraordinary pruning interventions and care of the existing plant material but also eradication of weeds that were carried out at the beginning of the works.
The project finally included the addition of many native plants and other non-native plants in the park mainly associated with the existing collections
This with the exception of the addition of two new small collections, one of Bambuseae (Bamboo) and one of Wisteria (Wisteria) with the aim of further increasing the biodiversity and botanical interest of the park itself.
Native species have been favored alongside others with good physiological adaptation to local peculiarities:
_Tall trees such as Olives and Cypresses that are native but also Camphore, Brachychiton, Eritrine, Lagunarie and Bahuinia.
_Medium-height plants of native origin such as Mastic, Laurel, Teucrium and Strawberry Tree will constitute the connective tissue that will then be dotted with more exotic plants such as Feijoa, Bignonia capreolata and Plumbago.
_Native perennial herbaceous plants such as Artemisia, Ampelodesmos mauritanicus and Euphorbia, will be placed alongside Lavenders, Agapanthus, Ballota pseudodictamnus, Convolvolus cneorum, Gaura lindhemerii, Erigeron karvinskianus, Iris pallida, Bulbine Frutescens and others.
In particular, numerous plantings have concerned the area of the expansion, as this is the area which currently presents the least presence of vegetation.
In this area, fruit trees typical of the Sicilian agricultural tradition have been added, such as almond, peach and apricot trees, but also cherry and apple trees typical of the Etna area to form an orchard.
To recall the citrus origins of this part of the park, which was once a citrus grove, a collection of citrus fruits of different varieties has been created, arranged in a staggered grid (crow’s foot) as was the case in all citrus groves before the advent of tractors.
At the center of this orchard is the vegetable garden, planted seasonally with vegetables typical of the area and the theater cavea in lava stone covered with creeping aromatics such as Thymus serpyllum and Mentha requienii and others.
To the north of the theatre, plants that are popular with bees and butterflies have been planted, such as Syringa vulgaris Lantana camara, Heliotropium arborescens, Aster novi-belgi, Sedum spectabile, Ajuga reptans, Alyssum saxatile, Centhrantus ruber, etc. etc.
In particular, an area of about 500 square metres is dedicated to sowing seeds of Phacelia, Lupinella, Sulla and Melliloto, all to contribute to the increase of beneficial insects in the park.
These interventions as a whole aim to create an intervention without interruption with the project undertaken by Ettore Paternò del Toscano and then continued by his heirs, always aimed at attention and respect for native vegetation but at the same time characterised by curiosity towards exotic species and all the plants that adapt well to our climate and our territory.
With the new plantings (about 2,000 new plants, including trees, shrubs and bushes) the tree-lined surfaces have been increased to increase the compensation action of the CO2 and fine dust emissions of the surrounding urban settlement while shading the sunny areas of the park and reducing solar radiation and the water needs of the plants below.
The addition of new trees is also aimed at mitigating the visual impact of the buildings surrounding the park and the noise caused by car traffic on adjacent roads, increasing the oasis function that the park already performs within an urbanized fabric.
The project has as its background the choice to make the entire park “available” for collective use, to make it become an element of the city that plays a primary role in it, also for its new re-layout, for its rethinking.
Raffaele La Capria wrote in “The eye of Neaples” “A city dies when it is not continually rethought” “A city is alive if it produces language: not only words and experiments with words, but ideas, concepts, dreams, intentions, utopias, points of view, to tell its story by involving others, and to understand the reality of others through its own”.
This new reconfiguration of the park aims precisely at this: to make Ettore Paternò’s dream, which he was able to realize, an element that contributes to regenerating the city so that it produces language.
