The Historical Greenery as a Driver for Urban Regeneration. Three Italian Experiences of Horticulture and Actualization of Heritage

While the mantra of sustainability has been repeated for 50 years, its four original pillars—environmental, social, economic, and cultural sustainability—still need to be addressed. Already Pasolini (La forma della Città [Movie]. Rai 2, Italy; 1974) considered the urban and natural contexts as a whole problem to deal with. In fact, today, cultural sustainability is one of the key paradigms for the new ecological balance between humans and nature. Nature is an asset to be protected, but it is also an important resource for the regeneration of the existing city and its adaptation to climate change. Natural Capital has a double value: on the one hand, it is a legacy (patrimoine) of our fathers; on the other hand, it is an asset (heredium) for the next generations. However, its present value needs to be reactualized. A proactive and dynamic perspective must be added to the protection and limitation of Natural Capital. It must consider “urban nature” as a “valuable asset” and as a catalyst of regeneration process of a place’s identity, of the revitalization of local enterprises, and of the reactivation of changes between ecosystem and anthropic dimensions. The paper purposes an update alliance between urban horticulture, historical preservation, and urban regeneration, analyzing three Italian case studies (Rome, Naples, and Bari). The aim is to combine the adaptation and protection of historical greenery, increasing new wealth and value (material/immaterial) for the surrounding and its community. The paper highlights the role of green spaces with the urban regeneration as identity, cultural, and socioeconomic heritage able to underpin the actualization and the redesign of historical environment.