Belvedere in costiera. La costruzione del paesaggio attraverso il progetto di architettura

The contribution reflects on the value that the landscape acquires through architectural design, presenting the results of a design experience developed as part of the NIB Master's program. The study focuses on the Amalfi Coast through the identification of a system of one hundred viewpoints covering sixteen municipalities, from Salerno to Positano. The selected sites are residual spaces located in the highest and most panoramic areas of the coast: the ends of driveways, cemetery entrances, and abandoned terraces. The interpretation of the coastal landscape highlights the characteristics of the local vernacular architecture—vaulted constructions, lime kilns, terraces—and the recurring use of traditional materials such as split gray stone walls and white lime. These features, which fascinated Grand Tour travelers and influenced important figures in modern architecture such as Gio Ponti, are the reference point for the design of a belvedere in Praiano. The project proposes the reuse of a residual terminal space through the introduction of different levels and new openings onto the landscape, using traditional local materials. The design experience demonstrates how the landscape is constructed from the intersection between real place, collective imagination, and historical traces, confirming that landscape design must be sought in the place itself and in the imagery created by myth and history.