Amphibious landscapes - Floodable park along the course of Tor Sapienza’s ditch, in Colli Aniene, Rome

The site is located in the east of Rome and it is delimited by the Aniene River on the north, by the Grande Raccordo Anulare on the west, and by the railway lines on both the south and the west sides. The disserta􀆟on examined a specific area of interest, which is Colli Aniene’s district and the bordering Cervelletta’s Park, with a specific focus on the exchanges between land and water.
This site originated in a territory defined by the wild vegetation of the Valle dell’Aniene’s Reserve, where Cervelle􀆩a’s Park is located.
Tor Sapienza’s ditch, is crucial to the park’s landscape and makes the water and its dynamics the true protagonists of Cervelletta’s Park.
A historical analysis of the area has highlighted how decisive the intertwining of geography, soil and waters was for the environmental and social workings of the landscape. However, the structural development of the district was influenced by the indifference towards the geological substrate of the area and have forced its citizens to cope with periodical flooding.
To promote the residual parts of the original structure, the project proposes to create a new floodable park, which can engage with the soil, the water, the vegetation and the passing of time. The park would be accessible during the whole year, even when
potentially interested by flooding, thanks to newly introduced elements: a pattern of walkways, which would follow the imprints of pre-existing canals, and systems to cross the streams of water and mold the orography.