Enhanche small islands in the framework of Blue Growth: the Cheradi Islands of Taranto”

The present case study refers to the Cheradi archipelago in Taranto, Southern Italy. Our aim is to enhance the strong naturalness that characterizes the islands, almost abandoned long time ago, because of the difficul- ty to reach them. So the guidelines of our strategy are mainly to reconnect the islands to the city creating a pedestrian-cycle walkway (the “Blue Road”) that follows the course of the existing breakwater barrier and to emphasize the great quality of the natural and architectural elements trying to cover the large industrial area (ENI and ILVA) close to Punta Rondinella (on the mainland). In fact, the fundamental aspect of our project is the contrast between the landscape and the strongly anthropized areas. Nature is used not only as an element of valorization of places, but also as a possibility to divide and cover, at least visually, the industrial pole adjacent to our project area. The park of Punta Rondinella has just this purpose, where some architectures of the Second World War are recycled as mirador and info points, where discover the path from the city to the islands. Through the walkway we arrive on San Pietro’s Island, today partially militarized, which in addition to the strong natural- ness, is characterized by an area dedicated to bath, that provides a series of services connected to the beach. At the end, the island of San Paolo closes this ideal path. The historical structures of the Island are reused as museums and integrated with new structures with the function of nursery for the local marine fauna.