Il giardino della Villa Floridiana in Napoli. Memoria, conservazione e valorizzazione

The subject of historic gardens is once again at the centre of international interest, following the profound environmental and social changes of recent decades. The renewed interest in them highlights the lack of specialist skills and the inadequacy of regulations, so it seems appropriate to tackle an innovative research path, capable of reading them as a synthesis of different disciplines and not as their juxtaposition. This line of investigation includes the study conducted as part of the Diploma of Specialisation thesis in Architectural and Landscape Heritage on the Villa Floridiana complex in Naples, a former Bourbon residence and today the Duca di Martina National Ceramics Museum. The methodological path followed started from the cognitive phase with the reconnaissance of the copious bibliographic, cartographic, iconographic and archival documentation, making it possible to outline the historical events that affected the site and the urban context of reference. Since the study of greenery is an essential objective of this work, an accurate census of trees and shrubs was carried out, with the recognition and classification of exceptional botanical species, as well as a mapping of the planting layers. The analyses also focused on the subsoil with its cavities and hydraulic system, peculiar to the Neapolitan area, as well as the mapping of the site's uses and management methods, aimed at identifying the best strategies for the valorisation of the La Floridiana complex. The exits of the present research that, despite its great historical, artistic and botanical value, the complex, due to major maintenance deficiencies, has suffered a progressive decline, to the point of often being closed to the public, pending safety and restoration work.