The BioVallo project was conceived by Ugo Picarelli of Leader sas and is the first scheme to develop the opportunities for regeneration offered by incentives made available via the Piano Regional delle Attività Estrattive in such a way that not only favours the rehabilitation of the landscape but also provides “a chance to bring about social and economic change in an area whose potential is yet to be exploited”, explains Luigi Centola, winner of the Holcim European & Global Awards in 2006 with the Waterpower's project, and winner of the Acknowlegement Prize of the Holcim European Awards in 2008 with the Scarcoasts' project. The thirteen projects realised in this first phase form part of a broader vision in which the quarries are taken as a primary element for transformation and are part of a wide-ranging network of workshops to promote the particular characteristics of the area and innovative business opportunities in the Vallo di Diano.
The projects include: a garden with three sloping terraces that reproduces the botanic systems of the Vallo di Diano (Atena Lucana); light installations that use renewable energy sources (Monte San Giacomo): a bio-fair with areas carved out of the rock, large areas for open-air events and a photovoltaic forest (Montesano); a park for meditation with a crematory, small cemetery chapel for prayer and meeting areas (Sala Consilina); a series of urban allotments and sloping terraces for regenerating the local fruit plants that have disappeared (Padula).
Depending on the shape, orientation and specific requirements of the quarries, various innovative systems have been developed to make them safe, mitigate their impact and create a more natural environment. Strings of hemp fixed between the top and bottom of the quarry encourage the growth of plants at both ends, open meshes of natural and composite fibres artificially recreate the original profile of the mountainside while supporting vegetation, metal cables suspended from above and placed on the rock are incorporated with wooden crates that house climbing and trailing plants, lightweight structures made from recycled scaffolding poles with jute bags placed on the horizontal planes support the growth of spontaneous and indigenous plants.
The system of financing also comes under the banner of sustainability. A large part of this ambitious masterplan should be self-financed thanks to its effective contribution to the global reduction of emissions. The energy used for running day and night-time activities in the public spaces created, including power for projections and artistic lighting, will be produced using small integrated solar panels and a series of micro wind and water turbines integrated into the infrastructure to sustain the re-naturalisation process. In some quarries, traditional religious lights have been reinterpreted with the use of low-energy LEDs. All the elements in stone used for paving and the creation of large open areas of quarry are to be symbolically made from artificial stone, reconstituted with the same texture, grain and colour as the precious old local stones, Teggiano and Padula, that are no longer available today. E.S.
