When in the second half of the 1500s the marquess Pietro Bonarelli della Rovere decided to transform Barchi, a small village in the municipality of Terre Roveresche in the Marches, now in the province of Pesaro and Urbino, he assigned the task to the architect Filippo Terzi. Basing his design on the golden ratio, Terzi created a sort of ideal city that still constitutes a reference point for urban planners on a worldwide scape today.
From the splendors of the Renaissance to the population slump of the present, the town is slowly seeking a new identity and a new role in a constantly evolving economic and social context. Tourism is a central factor, but with the involvement of the local community, along a path that brings together tradition, history, culture, innovation and new forms of civic activism.
At Barchi, 593Studio – an affiliated consulting firm with a focus on architectural design and engineering, based in Castelfranco Veneto – decided to acquire the historic Palazzo Lenci to create a place of encounters, culture, education and development, through initiatives of revitalization of the historic settlement.
This operation also involves the local community, through a process of participatory design, soliciting proposals and suggestions from the residents. The first phase has already begun: at the website inbarchiamoci.it visitors can see an online 3D reconstruction made by surveying with laser scanning technology, with the support of a drone. Here it is possible to virtually explore the project in detail, delving into its architectural and urban dimensions.
