Sarande: water, forma terrae and forma urbis

The southern Albanian territory gathers many orographic and territorial conditions as well as relationships between water, landforms and urban forms. The city of Saranda, the neighbor small settlements, the Vrina Plan, the hills, the mountains, the sea and the lagoon are realities that coexist in a single stretch of territory developing along 23 km. This condition draws a “territorial zone” between two mountain ranges, which are characterized by an outstanding landscape in which it is possible to identify different forms of urban settlement, due to the natural and topographical environment. The relationship between water and land is very characteristic: starting from Saranda on the shores of the Ionic sea; Ksamil, situated in a stretch of land enclosed by the sea and the lagoon; Butrint bordering on the Vivari channel that divides the ancient city from the Vrina Plan. The presence of an irrigation system is very important too: this network of channels, which characterizes a great portion of this territory, was realized during the 60s. Saranda, Ksamil, Butrint and the Vrina Plan, together with its hills are the areas where urban settlements took place from the ancient period. Saranda is a town in which the installation has been made following the coast’s shape with parallel terraces and the natural climb of the hill, so its urban form could be compared to that of a theatre. This kind of installation is made of stretched blocks, in line with the Italian urban plan conceived in 1940, which shows how the modern city connects with the original roman based on a cardo‐ decumanus structure still existing. This area has a characteristic position: the waterfront not only defines a circumscribed space, but also overlooks the island of Corfu. Going South along an ideal way that follows the coast, the ridges and the lagoon, takes place Ksamil. It is a residential area recently constructed, a so‐called informal common city, not planned, almost completely touristic and residential, without an own urban structure. Anyway, it is possible to recognize some urban forms by looking at the way the buildings take place, in order to respect the nature of the land, the hills, the landslide and the infrastructures. Butrinto is a little peninsula surrounded by the Vivari channel. It is an important archeological site whose remains testify the intense anthropic process that has occurred this area in the centuries. In the roman period, Butrint was connected to the Vrina plan with a water work. The Vrina plan is characterized by small urban settlements located on the top of each hill that emerges on the lowland where we can find both archeological remains and fields intended for agriculture and livestock. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the method of interpretation of the relationship between different landscapes by describing the forms of water, the landforms and the urban forms. This analysis phase is followed by a planning part dedicated to the formal definition of the project. It intends to create a settlement pattern, which develops all along the main crest and measures the entire zone, through a path, linking the urban areas, the natural elements and the historical and architectural heritage.