MONTEDORO

Type: International design Competition
Award: Third Prize
Year: 2020
Physical Model: Atelier PCA
Images: Playtime, Barcelona
Site: Craco, Italy
Client: YAC and Craco Ricerche srl

Not far from the renowned city of Matera, perched on a landscape of white dunes, lies Craco. Now a ghost town, the ancient “Montedoro” was completely abandoned following the catastrophic landslide of 1963.
The small medieval settlement was built upon a rocky spur emerging from the clay-rich soils covered by layers of sand that shape the Lucanian landscape, forming the natural sculptural features known as Calanchi.

Along this spur, the most representative buildings have survived: the Norman Tower, the Church, Palazzo Grossi, several residential units, and Palazzo Carbone. The rest of the town, founded on clay, has collapsed into rubble—tangible evidence of a past that will not easily fade.

It is precisely from this void that the project seeks to continue the story.
At the entrance to the town—now an undefined space devoid of spatial reference but once occupied by the important Largo Alfieri, followed by Largo V. Emanuele and Largo Bandiera—a “Garden of Memory” ideally reconstructs the dimensions of the lost squares, giving a new sense of arrival to the village with resting areas and a water source nestled among the trees.
The introduction of greenery in this area also contributes to the natural stabilization of the slope, significantly reducing the risk of further landslides.

Crossing the garden, visitors reach the area where the first three volumes of the project stand: the Library/Cinematheque, the Info Point, and the Exhibition Space. Here, the vast photographic and cinematographic archive that connects the history of this place to the present can be showcased through research, film screenings, and photographic exhibitions from local and international collections.

The use of wood, in a syntax of light and punctual elements, is not the result of a random stylistic choice but a direct response to the site’s specific geological conditions. The architectural language adopted is therefore distinguished by its technological difference from the massive stone and brick structures of the old town, making it legible as a contemporary layer within the historical context.

All the shelters, positioned carefully and strategically to offer visitors exclusive views of the landscape, adopt the same tectonic vocabulary and become part of the current visitor route.
The experience culminates on the rocky ridge that descends steeply along the northwest side of the old town. Here, a linear wooden structure houses guest rooms—allowing visitors to stay overnight—and a small restaurant opening on three sides to the landscape. The design follows the natural morphology of the slope, integrating the volume as the concluding gesture of the urban form.

They appear as temporary structures—scaffoldings in waiting—sometimes clinging to the rocks, at other times suspended over the landscape.

This work is a tribute.
This tribute is a betrayal.
This betrayal is an act of love.
To Peter Zumthor and Smiljan Radic.

Lausanne, 16.01.2020