TREVISO – Finally after a year something has moved. Once again Mayor Conte listens to the advice of the Democratic Party, and in the end, thanks to proposals from us, on Friday the Giardinetti di Sant’Andrea were populated by kids and concerts. How long will it last? At the moment 1 month, but we are quite understanding about this, we know that it is not easy for this council to arrive at simple and concrete solutions to improve the quality of life in the only green lung of the city centre. I therefore congratulate you on the initiatives, concerts and food trucks that finally enlivened the Saturday evening in Treviso. However, flaunting a rebirth of the Giardinetti, complete with a cultural journey, seems to me to be exaggerated to say the least. Anyone who has stopped by to take a look at the new Gardens (no longer Giardinetti), as the mayor calls them, has not, I think, perceived a new and revolutionized layout of the place. Adding 4 statues, although of excellent workmanship, always linked to the animal world, is not enough to relaunch and redevelop a critical and important area of the city. We started with just one crustacean, now there are also a dachshund and a gorilla, only the 2 lionhorns are missing and we will have a fantastic zoo.”
This is how Carlotta Bazza, councilor of the Democratic Party of the Trecento, comments on the choice of the Cà Sugana project to try to redevelop the gardens from decay and bring young people and families back to experiencing the green park in the city centre. For the councilor a planning vision is missing: “It seems to me that the will to really put our hands and heads into a project that gives the sense of real change, aimed at all citizens, is lacking. For an authentic rebirth of the place in question, by nose, the Mayor should have spoken to some landscape architect – and in Treviso there are some good ones – to understand how to really give a new soul to the Giardinetti, and not limit himself to an occasional makeover , just to gain some ephemeral consensus.
We can understand the painful issue of the lack of resources of the Municipalities, but sometimes it is really a question of will. The Gardens are a natural arena, is it possible that such a popular mayor doesn’t have a landscape architect following him capable of giving him advice? Those Gardens, precisely because they are the only green space in the heart of the city and therefore very important for the community, must be radically rethought, they must change their appearance and above all they must acquire attractions and formulate proposals capable of speaking to everyone”.
Hence the councilor’s proposal: “They could become a place to rest and study outdoors in the mild months, for high school or university students, if equipped with free wi-fi and tables made of material suitable for outdoors, or to take a lunch break for employees and workers, or to use for a book or second-hand clothing market. If seats were created on the sides of the fountain they could be managed by associations for cultural initiatives.” “The entire physiognomy of that green space should therefore be rethought, taking advantage of the particular sloping structure and the presence of water, also rethinking the botanical aspect of the garden, placing a fitness trail, as well as games for children. This is not the project that citizens have been waiting for for 1 year. This is a hasty plugging of the holes, without a thoughtful and decisive idea, for fear of not hurrying and receiving criticism”.
