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The three winners of the “Waterfront Area 3 and Adjacent Areas Ideas Competition”, organized by the Eastern Ligurian Sea Port System Authority, were announced today at the AdSP headquarters in Marina di Carrara, during a press conference attended by Eng. Federica Montaresi, AdSP Extraordinary Commissioner; Eng. Serena Arrighi, Mayor of Carrara; Arch. Anna Maria Maggiore, President of the Jury; Arch. Nicoletta Migliorini and Surveyor Enrico Vatteroni, both members of the Jury; and, of course, the three winners of the competition: 1st place, Arch. Vanni Daniele; 2nd place, Arch. Carta Mauro, Biondi Mattia, Faravelli Silvia; 3rd place, Arch. Giordani Piermaria, legal representative of RECS Architects – professional partnership firm – (collaborators: Arch. Santoro Alessandro, Conte Marco, Leoni Mattia).

The official presentation of the winning projects comes just under a year after the signing of the memorandum of understanding between AdSP and the Municipality of Carrara, aimed at launching an ideas competition for the port-city interaction area, to begin the planning process starting from a conceptual proposal to be further developed during the final design phase. The area includes not only the port-city interaction zone (from the intersection of Viale Colombo and Via Rinchiosa to Largo Marinai d’Italia including the lighthouse area), but also Viale Vespucci up to the Paradiso roundabout. As required by the competition brief, the winning projects include urban and tourist functions that integrate with the new promenade along the breakwater and the surrounding urban fabric; commercial spaces; parking areas replacing existing ones, and more.

Twenty-nine participants submitted entries within the competition deadline.

“Another important step has been added to the comprehensive project for the new waterfront of Marina di Carrara. Thanks to the positive dialogue with the Municipal Administration, the interventions and investments by the AdSP continue to ensure harmonious coexistence between port and urban areas,” said AdSP Extraordinary Commissioner Federica Montaresi. “The future of the area addressed by the competition, which will be integrated with other ongoing projects by both the AdSP and the Municipality – all aimed at redeveloping the city’s seafront – is now set, and it will be inspired by the winning proposal. A comprehensive regeneration that will create new synergies between public and private sectors, redefining the use of currently underused and penalized spaces, reestablishing the connection between the waterfront and the city of Marina di Carrara, allowing better use for residents and tourists.”

The Mayor of Carrara, Serena Arrighi: “First of all, I want to thank everyone who participated in this ideas competition and congratulate them on their proposals. All the projects submitted were very beautiful because they all managed to capture the uniqueness of Marina di Carrara,” said Mayor Serena Arrighi. “These ideas integrate very well with the new look of the seafront that is taking shape thanks to the many completed, ongoing, or soon-to-start construction sites. The new pier promenade, the new eastern port entrance, the redevelopment of Viale Colombo and Viale da Verrazzano, the restoration of the Caravella, the renovation of the former Mediterraneo – these are works that will radically transform Marina, making it even more a place for outdoor life and social interaction. That’s why, with the crucial support of the Port System Authority, we decided to promote this ideas competition for such a vital area as the one from the new promenade to Viale Colombo. In this area, we envision the beating heart of modern Marina, with venues, green spaces, and plenty of recreational activities that constantly interact with the rest of the city.”

“The Marina di Carrara competition was a meaningful and intense design challenge. The initial idea was to connect city, park, and sea with a simple yet profound gesture: a promenade that would become the soul and backbone of the place. Marking the skyline, the proposal includes a panoramic tower: an “urban lighthouse” facing the sea, with surfaces evoking the quarries and the memory of marble. A project rooted in the territory, to give back beauty, connections, and new shared life horizons,” said ideas competition winner, Arch. Daniele Vanni

Arch. Anna Maria Maggiore, President of the Jury: “On behalf of the Jury, I congratulate the designer of the winning proposal, who was able to interpret the site’s characteristics and the competition requirements effectively. The top-ranked projects, in our view, represent well-conceived solutions in terms of form, context integration, and feasibility. We particularly appreciated the proposals for new public squares and large green spaces available to citizens and visitors of the city and port; as well as the integration with existing elements and the reference to the territory in the choice of materials.”

Implementation of port-city interface works – Waterfront redevelopment works in Marina di Carrara – Scopes 1 and 2 – Road maintenance, urban planning and new maritime structural works – Investment 37,000,000 Euros

The project involves the functional and environmental redevelopment of the Waterfront in the port of Marina di Carrara. The planned interventions address all issues related to the port-city interface and involve various project categories, such as structural works, ordinary and special roads, construction and street furniture, railways, maritime and plant engineering works.

The project concerns the construction of a new access gate to the east of the commercial port, and the redevelopment of the road axes of Viale Zaccagna, Viale Giovanni da Verrazzano and Cristoforo Colombo to the intersection with Via Modena. Also planned is a change to the route of the railway, which will be brought inside the port of call and to realize which will require a new crossing that will provide a different entrance for trains. Another novelty is the construction in Viale da Verrazzano of a traffic circle and another bridge leading to the new entrance, which will also have a positive impact on the development of the commercial and tourist induced activities in the area, generating a significant increase in employment in all the sectors involved, such as manufacturing and shipbuilding, as well as allowing the city to enjoy a wide promenade on the sea at the western pier.

The expected duration of the works is 520 natural days from the handover of the construction site.

The contract for the redevelopment of areas 1 and 2 of the Marina di Carrara waterfront was awarded to the business grouping composed of Società Edilizia Tirrena SET SpA – Agnese Costruzioni SpA – Varia Costruzioni SpA – Cav. Emilio Giovetti Srl. The contract was signed on 3/16/2023, and from that date a series of technical meetings aimed at defining the details of the succession of construction phases and their impacts on the surrounding environment began.

On 25/5/2023, the partial handover of the works is scheduled to allow the grouping of companies to carry out a series of preliminary and preparatory activities to the actual execution of the works, Specifically, through the handover in question, the contractor will be able to perform the planned activities of searching for possible war devices in the sites, on land and at sea, of execution of the works, will be able to carry out detailed surveys of the areas and additional investigations on the interfering sub-services, aimed at the better organization of the construction site and the succession of the phases of work, and finally will carry out the ante operam environmental investigation campaign. The described activities will occupy the summer months with the aim of starting construction of the works from late summer 2023.

New works ready in 18 months: new promenade, a seaside plaza and transparent parapets. The mayor: “Today we start building the Marina of tomorrow.” Sommariva: “The planned works, which are considered strategic and therefore worthy of receiving funding under the NRP, aim to mend the relationship between the port and the city.”

Two days ago the works for the redevelopment of the Marina di Carrara Waterfront – Area 4, consisting of interventions for the protected usability of the seafront promenade at the western pier, were handed over to the company R.C.M. Costruzioni S.r.l. of Sarno (SA), which won the tender, according to the criterion of the most economically advantageous offer.

This morning, the presentation of the project during a press conference attended by Dr. Mario Sommariva, AdSP President; Ing. Federica Montaresi, ADSP Secretary General; Dr. Elena Guadagni, Councillor for Public Works, Municipality of Carrara; Dr. Moreno Lorenzini, Councillor for Special Projects, Municipality of Carrara; Dr. Carlo Orlandi, Councillor for Economic Development, Municipality of Carrara; Dr. Luca Perfetti, Director of AdSP Marina di Carrara office; and Ing. Mirko Leonardi Manager of AdSP Technical Area;

In detail, the most significant intervention consists in the creation of a long path that will be developed above the breakwater’s breakwater wall and that represents the most significant part of the entire Waterfront project, not only for its size, 870 m long by 5 m wide, but especially for its panoramic aspect, with its views of the open sea and the harbor and with the backdrop of the Apuan Alps. Also planned is the redevelopment of the onshore area at the root of the breakwater pier and the creation of a new seaside plaza at the pier elbow. The onshore areas will be enhanced by paths made of dunes with native vegetation, cliffs, and gentle slopes. To promote the panoramic nature of the path, “transparent” steel railings and ground-level lighting are also planned. The economic investment for the realization of the project, amounts to €. 13,870,000 of which €. 1,574,000 is guaranteed by the PNC – Supplementary Fund to the PNRR (DL 59/2021).

The contractual deadline for completion of the works is set at 18 months. The works will be carried out in a way that will not disrupt summer beach activities.

President Sommariva: “The waterfront of Marina di Carrara represents the connecting strip between the sea, the port and the city. The planned works, which are considered strategic and therefore worthy of receiving the funding provided by the PNRR, have precisely the purpose of mending the relationship between the port and the city, allowing citizens as well as tourists and cruise passengers to enjoy a unique work. I emphasize how not only the infrastructures envisaged by Area 4, but also those concerning Areas 1 and 2 were included in the Complementary Plan. This consideration gave strength to the procedure that allowed us to unlock this long-awaited work. There will soon be the possibility to consult a special site, dedicated to the sea promenade, where the citizenship will be able to follow the progress of the work step by step.”

“Today we begin to build the Marina of tomorrow. With the delivery of these works, we are not only starting with a project that has been awaited for years, but we are also giving a strong signal in the direction of what kind of city we imagine for the future,” said the Mayor of Carrara, Serena Arrighi. “The waterfront as a whole will be a work that will contribute to clearly redesigning a large part of our coastline, making it more beautiful and more functional both to the needs of the territory and the port itself. Of the various lots of this great project, however, the one that starts today is surely the one that will have the best impact on the citizenship since we are going not only to redevelop an area that is already much loved and frequented, but also to realize something that has always been in the desires of all the people of Carrara: a footbridge almost a kilometer long suspended between the blue of the sea and the green of the Apuan Alps that, I am sure, will become a real attraction. Now that the machine has been set in motion, as is normal, we are expecting several months of inconvenience due to the construction sites and the necessary closure of the current promenade, but this is a necessary sacrifice that will surely be repaid when the work is completed. In the meantime, on the part of the administration, I can as of now guarantee maximum commitment in making sure that all deadlines are met and in finding alternative solutions to ensure that even in these months a place where Carrarans and tourists can stroll.”

Download the full project

The tender was awarded, according to the criterion of the economically most advantageous offer, to the company R.C.M. Costruzioni srl of Sarno (SA), which obtained the highest score with regard to technical aspects (78.14 points out of the 80 points available to the Selection Committee) and proposed a 10.01% discount on the basic tender amount of 11,523,211.67 euros.
The ritual verifications aimed at making the award effective and enabling the contract to be signed have already been initiated, after which the awarded company will have to develop the executive project of the works, on the basis of which the construction sites can start. The contractual deadline for completion of the works is set at 18 months. In view of the foreseeable concomitance with the summer season, the actual start date of the works will be agreed with the Municipality of Carrara and the Port Authority in order not to inconvenience summer beach activities.
In detail, the most significant intervention consists of the creation of a long path that will run above the breakwater’s breakwater wall and represent the most significant part of the entire Waterfront project, not only because of its size, 870 m long by 5 m wide, but especially because of its panoramic aspect, with its views of the open sea and the harbor and the backdrop of the Apuan Alps. Also planned is the redevelopment of the onshore area at the root of the breakwater pier and the creation of a new seaside plaza at the pier elbow. The onshore areas will be enhanced by paths made of dunes with native vegetation, cliffs, and gentle slopes. To promote the panoramic nature of the path, “transparent” steel railings and ground-level lighting are also planned. The economic investment for the implementation of the project, amounts to €. 13,870,000, of which €. 8,576,000 is guaranteed by the PNRR – Supplementary Fund (DL 59/2021) and €. 5,294,000 by the Tuscany Region.
The procedure is being carried out in compliance with the indicated timeframe and the commitments made by the Port System Authority when the final project was publicly presented in July 2021, as well as with the binding deadlines established for the works to be carried out in the ports that are financed by the PNRR Supplementary Fund, such as the interventions in question and Lots 1 and 2 of the Marina di Carrara Waterfront redevelopment works, the latter currently in the executive design phase.

“AdSP President Mario Sommariva and Secretary General Francesco Di Sarcina emphasize the historic importance of this milestone, which concretely initiates a project long desired by all Carrara citizens and strongly desired by the municipal administration.”

Walks, jogging, relaxation and waterfront recreation. Lot 4 of the Marina di Carrara Waterfront project, the Tuscan town’s new seafront promenade, was unveiled during a press conference held this morning, attended by Francesco Di Sarcina, secretary general of AdSP Mar Ligure Orientale; Francesco De Pasquale, Mayor of Carrara; Commander in II of the Marina di Carrara Harbour Master’s Office, Paolo Margadonna; Andrea Ratti, Councillor of the Municipality of Carrara; Luigi Bosi, Director of the AdSP Headquarters in Marina di Carrara; and Mirko Leonardi manager of the AdSP’s Technical Sector .

The long path, which will run above the breakwater wall of the outer breakwater, represents the most significant part of the entire Waterfront project, not only for its size, 870 m long by 5 m wide, but especially for its panoramic aspect, with its views of the open sea and the harbor and the backdrop of the Apuan Alps. The economic investment for the realization of the project, amounts to €. 13,870,000, of which €. 8,576,000 is guaranteed by the PNRR – Supplementary Fund (DL 59/2021) and €. 5,294,000 by the Tuscany Region.

For the citizens of the surrounding area, it is the realization of a dream that has been cradled for years and is now a reality thanks to the efforts of the various presidents of the Authority since 2001. The final push, by current AdSP head Mario Sommariva, underscores the current presidency’s interest in bringing the port ever closer to the city.

“By 2024 the work, which is very important and symbolic,” will be tested and finished. It has been a long process, which is part of a larger one, the one concerning the entire waterfront, which will eventually inject more than 50 million euros in all into the economic circuit of Marina di Carrara. A real injection of resources not only for the maritime sector, but also for an induced activity made up of construction, maintenance, etc…We will award the works through an integrated tender, only related to the execution of the works. The awarding of the tender will take place after the summer,” Di Sarcina said.

As Luigi Bosi pointed out, Lot 4 has always been highly desired. It is everyone’s satisfaction to be able to offer the city this work” .

Leonardi, RUP of the project after Domenico Ciavarella, both of whom were thanked by the Secretary General as well as Headquarters Director Luigi Bosi for their efforts over the years, described the project from a technical point of view.

“From a precarious situation we arrive at a very beautiful project, with a decisive functional and landscape redevelopment of the beach area at the root of the pier. Also from the point of view of safety, a new chapter opens. There will be three key nodes; an area ashore; a new plaza on the sea at the elbow of the breakwater pier; and a new, large terrace on the sea at the head of the breakwater. All three points will be connected by paths made of dunes with native vegetation, cliffs, and gentle slopes. To promote the panoramic nature of the path, “transparent” steel railings and ground-level lighting are also planned.”

This is the timeline: Tender process and contracting,Jul – Dec 2021; Drafting/verification/approval Executive Project, Jan – Apr 2022; Work execution May 2022 – Nov 2023;Testing and start of operation, Nov 2023 – May 2024.

Today we write a new history – said Mayor De Pasquale. We concretely begin the path to realize a dream of the community, an indispensable promenade for all the people of Carrara and the breathtaking view from the sea over the mountains, which can only be enjoyed from the breakwater. It has been a very long wait, but for this very reason I am sure that the intervention will be received with great enthusiasm. This is definitely the most “urban” lot of the waterfront, the one that citizens will enjoy most in their moments of leisure and relaxation, and it is important that this great work starts right here. The port, as a whole, is experiencing a revitalization phase: we are trying to trigger the same mechanism on the city. Lot 4 is a kind of trait d’union between the port of call and the city, and I am really happy that today the operational phase begins.”

“Speaking as a citizen, rather than as an authority, I am sure that the project will return to the citizenry a work of great architectural and multifunctional value,” said Commander in II of the Marina di Carrara Port Authority, Paolo Margadonna. “To be considered, above all, the added value it will bring to the port not only as a commercial work, but as an enhancement of the port area, in relation to future developments planned by the P.R.P. System Authority.

The Port System Authority of the Eastern Ligurian Sea has obtained funding approval for the project called MARBLE “MARitime port Bridging Landside infrastructure,” related to improving the accessibility of the port of Marina di Carrrara, under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Transport call 2019, reserved for Comprehensive ports in the TEN-T network.

The overall objective of the MARBLE project is to improve the connection between the port of Marina di Carrara and the road and rail transport networks pertaining to it. Specifically, the funding obtained through the MARBLE project will cover part of the costs related to the works to upgrade the multimodal access system to the port and the maritime works required to secure them. These works fall under areas 1 and 2 of the Marina di Carrara Port Waterfront Project, the approval process for which is already at an advanced stage.

The project will have a duration of about 2 years (December 2019 – September 2021) and a total eligible cost of €11,312,763, of which €2,262,553 will be co-financed by the CEF call.

“Obtaining this funding represents a truly important result,” comments President Carla Roncallo, “as it will make a fundamental contribution to the Port System Authority’s development projects and in particular to the redevelopment of the Marina di Carrara Waterfront, whose works will bring considerable benefits both from the point of view of the management of goods entering and leaving the port especially for traffic related to the industrial area located close to the port, and from the point of view of the quality of life for the population. Obtaining this funding is also a source of great satisfaction for our Authority,” continued President Roncallo, “because MARBLE is the first community project approved, since the Port System Authority was established, that concerns the port of Marina di Carrara, and this will contribute to giving European visibility to our comprehensive port as well. This aspect, which I would like to emphasize, testifies to the great work carried out by the offices of the AdSP with a view to integration and synergy between the ports of La Spezia and Marina di Carrara also in the field of community planning.”