Chapter i. · Ravenna · 2024

Piazza del Mercato

For forty years it held 180 cars. Today it holds a Thursday market, a loggia, twenty plane trees and most of the neighbourhood on a summer evening.

Text: Giulia FerriPlates: Studio PorticoReading time: 6 min

Area: 6,200 m²
Trees: 20 planes
Built: 2022 – 24
Client: Comune

The first thing we did in Ravenna was nothing. For three weeks we sat on the low wall at the edge of the car park and counted: who crossed it, who stopped, where the shade fell at noon and where the old men played cards when the market was on.

The plan that followed is simple. Cars leave; the ground is raised to a single level of brick and local stone; a double row of plane trees gives shade along the south side; and a long loggia closes the square to the north, where the wind comes from in winter.

A roof for the market

The loggia is the square's porch. On Thursdays it shelters the market; the rest of the week it is a place to sit out of the rain, a stage for summer concerts and, most evenings, a very long bench.

Figure-ground plan of the new square — **Tav. III** The square in its blocks.

The loggia at evening — **Tav. IV** The loggia, west end.

Water and stone

A shallow fountain sits flush with the paving, so children can run through it and the market can cover it with stalls. In August it lowers the temperature under the trees by three degrees; in winter it is simply a reflection of the sky.

**Tav. V** Section through the square, from the loggia to the plane trees.

“Now the square has a timetable again: market, school, aperitivo.”

Next chapter: Via dei Portici →