Fortificazioni veneziane. Lo studio delle trasformazioni per il restauro della torre di Mestre come approccio conservativo

The unquestionable role historically played by Venice within the Mediterranean Sea is validated by the fortified buildings still standing and by the memory of an original fortification as well, which is revealed by the place-name of the sestiere Castello. While the Arsenal is still perpetuating – though in a partially renewed way - the traditional function as a military-productive core, the Bocche di Porto toward the Adriatic Sea keep the remains of the Forte di S. Andrea, with its Sixteen-Century stone facade by Michele Sanmicheli, leaning against a previous tower. This XIV Century brickwork pre-existence, together with a twin structure on the opposite shore of Lido, was one of the strongholds of a water gate, controlling the access to the town through a movable barrier. On the other side, the fortified village of Mestre was a terra-firma defence, which Venice was connected through the Salso Channel to. At present, the last one of the towers, building up the Medieval fortification, is still surviving in Mestre main square. Though it has changed in the course of time, it is the remainder of a whole, which was standing till the Eighteen Century. The paper reports the results of a stratigraphic study revealing the constructive-transforming processes that reshaped the tower during the centuries. Such an approach gave a chance for further knowledge, whereby the historical research was helped, or even clarified, by a direct reading of the material text. But stratigraphy is mainly intended as a method leading to a preservative project. Once a stratigraphic awareness was developed, the Municipality which lead the intervention - and till then was focused on the issue of reopening the arch - re-addressed the project preserving the physical marks both of the natural and the human changes. A closer contact with the corporeality of architecture also inspired a reflection about the meanings of physical decay and the possibility of including them in the project