Like a Wunderkammer

In the crossing between cardus and decumanus we can easily sum up the settlement of Piacenza; upon this scheme we can overlap a complexity made up of the several historical layers leading to the modern urban shape. This complexity can be seen as a sequence of limits, beyond which the urban fabric totally changes: these are the Po line, the XIX century walls, the highway. The layering of the urban core of Piacenza can be seen like an overcrossing of consecutive boundaries: pointing out these joint-areas, the project develops architectural devices to reveal unusual views and paths, throughout an unbroken ground design from south to north, using typical materials and plants. As thought in a Wunderkammer [4] sequence, where naturalia, artificialia and other mirabilia are revealed, the first tries to provide some keys to have a glance into this huge, open air “wonder room”.