Restoration of Doria Castle in Dolceacqua
After widespread interventions of restoration undertaken since the early 90 's, 2012-2015 covered the restoration and consolidation of certain portions of the main external walls of the Castle (sailing North, Savoy bastion bastion minor), the recovery of the main open spaces that surround it in diffuse form the complex, the establishment of a system of trails that leads the visitor to discover different points of perception of landscapes that surround the monument.
The "value" of the Castle is the close relationship between Castle and place where it fits. Relationship so charming by bringing Claude Monet repeatedly to visit Dolceacqua and capture bridge and Castle in a famous painting by the 1884 housed in the Musée Marmottan Monet in Paris.
The Castle situated in a dominant position overlooking the village below, is in extreme point advantage to control the Valley of the river of the Nervia Valley. The project seeks to enhance the strategic position, making travel to the visitor the different stages of completion of the building, discover some enclosed spaces created in the few portions of the building survived the various bombings and ensuing fires over time, but especially a guided path towards the various land control points.
The restoration and strengthening of masonry degraded extensively featured in significant form the surgery completed in 2015. Any need for structural reinforcement or static improvement though is was turned into an architectural project, also of iron parts that, depending on the requirement, have become paths, passages, elements of reconstruction of portions of walls partly missing or being complete detachment. Items always perceived as new parts, reversible and always side by side with existing fit evident.
The castle of Dolceacqua has split stone masonry or mixed with pebbles, bricks and lime mortar. In different rural areas, although the different construction periods masonry texture belong were present common including stone weathering, erosion damage of mortar joints, presence of biological attack for the moisture introduced directly into the wall and to the inefficiency of systems for the collection of rainwater. Landslides, cracks, lesions, gaps and shortcomings were quite widespread. Regarding the plaster layer (uncommon) the deterioration could identify as DT and bulge and black crust.
Many had signs of instability in construction; extensive and alarming were the phenomena of warping, garish wall collapses and injuries, affecting primarily the upper rampart requiring static consolidation work. To counter the bulge of the portion of the wall which joins the main courtyard with the bastion of Savoy (before the area most at risk), had been previously prepared a mesh created with innocent tubes anchored to the masonry.
That portion of masonry, formerly covered by vegetation and now totally recovered, had the phenomena of erosion and disintegration, extensive fracturing-cohesion, lacks. Problems maybe due to uneven terrain or lack of or bronzed joint between walls of masonry itself with those of the body close. Everything was aggravated by moisture penetrated that weakened the strength of the wall.
The main restoration operations provided for intervention were as follows:
1) the rivellino towards Porta Lu;
2) the portion of the building collapsed near the new belvedere garden;
3) the “Vela” North;
4) the bastion of Savoy (until new garden and part towards the outside courtyard).
