Works

(1957-1961) - Santa Margherita Ligure (Genova) - Garden and pool-Castello di Paraggi

THe Landscape architect was commissioned by the owners, the Bonomi Bolchini family, to design the garden and the pool of the 19th-century castle, an adaptation of an older Genoese fort located on the Bay of Paraggi between Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino.

Working closely with engineer L. Savelli, Porcinai modified the access from the mail road, creating a garage and the gated entrance to the garden. The ascent to the castle is a ramp, which in its upper portion becomes a raised roadway supported by iron pillars enveloped by vegetation; the irregular route leads to a lawn that conceals auxiliary structures and is at a level with the balcony of the castle. Other project features are the service approach to the gardeners's workspaces and the greenhouse. For the area around the castle, the design team planned the covered loggia-type entrance, the stone paved plaza outside of the living area, and the terrace paved in white and black pebbles and adorned with vases containing citrus plants. The pool is set among the rounded rocks on the side facing the bay, at 12 meters above the sea; the water overflows from the edge of a barely-perceptible diaphragm that separates the pool from the reef rocks below. All of these works are respectful of the environment: they are well harmonized with the surrounding and based on research into the best functional and aesthetic solutions. The plantings, chosen, both for their resistance to the salt air and their general hardiness and for their aesthetic values (colors, forms, habits) include _Pinus halepensis, Pistacia lentiscus,_ olm oak, olive, strawberry tree, tangerine, bitter orange, different varieties of geraniums, _Acanthus mollis, Buddleia globosa, Cleome pungent, Eleagnus reflex, Impatiens, Myrsine africana,_ oleanders, _Oreopanax australis, Veronica andersonii, V. glauca-coerulea, Teucrium,_ etc. The Landscape architect also designed the entrance gate, the changing rooms, the loggia, the aviary and the "cage" concealing the elevator, the projecting teak passageway, the tables, and the furnishings in general. (Ph.: Davide Papalini .Permission :http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagina principale - Wikipedia - e http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ Pagina principale - Wikimedia Commons-).