The convenience of a natural harbour, the needs of the maritime trade, the proximity of the sea and its resources had led the people of Malta and Messina – in the Modern Age – to construct two coastal cities, two port cities. But, as like all the Mediterranean port cities, the urban solutions are always ambiguous, always strained in the contradiction between opening and closing. The dual dynamics, the dual intent, are recognized in maximum closing as opposed to the maximum opening. Valletta and Messina live this contradiction: it is interesting to analyse the assumptions and design solutions in these two Mediterranean port cities in order to respond to their ambiguous identity.
The opening of the harbour, the closing of the walls: urban history of two Mediterranean port cities
2012-01-01
Abstract
The convenience of a natural harbour, the needs of the maritime trade, the proximity of the sea and its resources had led the people of Malta and Messina – in the Modern Age – to construct two coastal cities, two port cities. But, as like all the Mediterranean port cities, the urban solutions are always ambiguous, always strained in the contradiction between opening and closing. The dual dynamics, the dual intent, are recognized in maximum closing as opposed to the maximum opening. Valletta and Messina live this contradiction: it is interesting to analyse the assumptions and design solutions in these two Mediterranean port cities in order to respond to their ambiguous identity.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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