The Greenways of Pavia: innovations in Italian landscape planning

Two Greenway plans for the Pavia area in Northern Italy will be discussed here: the “Battle of Pavia Greenway” and the “Milan–Pavia–Varzi Greenway”. The master plan for the Pavia Greenway was produced in 1999 and the first section was completed in spring 2003; the second greenway is in the advanced phases of the planning process. The idea of the greenway itself and the planning approach to design and implementation of these greenways are probably unique in Italy: although other greenways have been proposed and in some cases implementation started, none are based on such a broad and deep consideration of physical, economic and social factors. In both greenways, great importance has been given to the conceptually simple idea of obtaining the most from the greenway concept, while at the same time minimizing physical impact and implementation costs. This paper will describe the particularities of the local circumstances and the approach and methodology applied to both plans. It will also attempt a general evaluation of successes and failures in the development of these two greenways.