Existing CAI Trails
Niccolai Tower
Planned CAI Trails
End Point of zip wire
Vehicle accessible street
Parking Area (10 cars)
Ripafratta Castle Park
E-Car Charging Area
Centino Tower
Rafting activities
Ripafratta Rural Center
Start Point of zip wire
MERIGGIO IN RIPAFRATTA
ME 2019
The project, on a territorial scale, aims to redevelop the fortress, the village and the tower, in order to create a synergistic system, based on the identities and vocations of the territory. Considering its proximity to the station, to the roads and to a CAI path, we thought of recovering the complex of the former salami factory. The new rural center will welcome visitors and coordinate all the sports activities of the entire system, promote slow mobility, host the local products market, a restaurant, a hostel and a community parking lot. Thanks to the new road from Via Fattori, visitors can reach the base of the mountain, where there is a large car park and an e-bike charging station. The visitor can reach the Rocca with a system of wooden walkways, delicately resting on the ground, and opportunities to stop in the shade, allowing visitors to experience nature, with glimpses of the castle under the roar of the river in the distance. Access to the fortress can also be made from the Pisan gate, made accessible thanks to a cut on the slope. Inside, the fortress is treated like a park, to respect and preserve its priceless heritage. Terraces allow access to the current levels, from the tower leaning against the walls, to the remains in the main bailey. Taking advantage of this natural slope, a multi-purpose space has been designed, covered by reversible steel and wood pergolas, which extend its use even in winter. A pure volume hosts, on different levels, a bar and a reception for the museum, which is directly connected to the old walkway. The visitor, at the end of the visit, will then be able to access the panoramic cantilevers located in the windows of the south wall, rebuilt in light brick, and then descend from the staircase built into the tower. Parking Area E-Car Renting E-Car Charging Local Bus Stop
Local Products Market (Ground floor) Ripafratta Rural Center (1st floor)
Restaurant (Ground floor) Youth Hostel (1st floor)
E -bike Renting Restoration interventions
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Ripafratta Climbing & Training Center
E-bike Storage and Charging
1st entrance 2nd entrance (Pisan door) Area for climbing activities Bar (1st and 2nd floor) & Museum (3rd and 4th floor)
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Panoramic cantilever Relax area Terraced multi-purpose area Stage Pedestrian ring
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The Niccolai tower can be reached thanks to the integration of the CAI tracks. The recovery project includes a climbing structure inside the tower, which encloses the stairs, the locker rooms and a reception like a shell. At the top, there is a panoramic terrace.
Torre Centino is designed as a box inside a box. The tower houses an information center, a bar, a shop selling local products and climbing activities on various levels.
Two zip wire stations connect the two towers offering a different perspective, and then, once gone down, the visitor can find refuge in the “meriggio�, under the shadow of a pine tree.