PIAZZA DELLE PIETRE D’ITALIA

Via III Armata, Fogliano Redipuglia (GO), Italy

The project for the Great War Memorial “House of the Third Army” in Fogliano Redipuglia begins with the reconfiguration of the external spaces at the foot of Colle Sant’Elia, facing the large Military Shrine. In this regard, it was decided to divide the entire project into a first functional phase, focused on the construction of a large area measuring the two-dimensional extent of a square surface with sides of twenty meters.

[PUBLISHED ON]
Antonella Greco. Orazio Carpenzano. Il Campo della Pietra d’Italia. In “Abitare la Terra”, n.45, 2018, pp. 40-41, ISSN 1592-8608.
Orazio Carpenzano. Il progetto per la Casa della Terza Armata a Redipuglia. In Maria Grazia D’Amelio (a cura di). Per non dimenticare. Sacrari del Novecento. Modena, Palombi editori, 2019. ISBN 9788860608154. pagg. 206-213.
Orazio Carpenzano. Il Campo e la strada. Progetti rigenerativi per nuove ritualità collettive. In “L’industria delle costruzioni”, n.467, maggio-giugno 2019, pp. 82-87, ISSN 0579-4900.

View of the Aztec Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan with a decorative tiled pathway in the foreground, and visitors walking around.
Historical scene illustrating an archaeological excavation with a large green staircase and modern structure, people on horses and on foot, trees lining the background, and a tall modern sculpture on the right side.
A geometric pattern with illuminated lines forming interconnected triangles and squares on a dark background.

The quadrangular structure is a symbol of definition and delimitation, an enclosure and a code of conceptual order, a figure of the earth, of stillness, of the isolated instant, of immanence. It brings together the characteristics of a regular figure with perpendicularity and, being the simplest modular structure, through its nine nodes it can be fragmented into similar shapes with infinite progressions, found in the numerous “tributes” that many artists of every era and place have dedicated to this figure. The paving thus becomes the natural geometric extension of the Shrine and a visual hinge for the paths that converge from all main directions. Its square form restores formal dignity to a space with undefined edges and weak connections to the surrounding context. Within this square, 8,047 stones are placed—one for each Italian municipality—assembled according to a geometric pattern of triangular decomposition of the square form, referring to stone decorations created using the ancient opus sectile technique, reinterpreted in the early 20th century by the Bauhaus school in painting and textile works, particularly in the work of Anni Albers.

A geometric pattern consisting of small triangles, squares, and other polygon shapes in various shades of beige, white, and light gray, forming an intricate mosaic design.
A landscape view of a countryside area with a large stairway leading up a hill, surrounded by a parking lot, trees, and fields, under a cloudy sky.
Aerial view of a large monument with tiered, wide staircase and Italian flags on either side, surrounded by greenery and roads.

The pavement has been dry-assembled on a supporting structure embedded in the ground, a system consisting of a series of steel supports, appropriately sized to bear the design loads, topped by a metal grid onto which the individual stones are fixed using chemical anchors. Each stone is separated from the others to allow the underlying lighting system to filter light through the joints between them.

Technical architectural drawing of a reinforced concrete structure with detailed annotations in Italian, including measurements and material specifications.
Dark tiled floor with illuminated lines forming geometric patterns, with people standing and walking in the background during evening or night.

At night, the stone carpet transforms into a brazier, a lamp that extends the illumination of the Shrine toward the House of the Third Army, offering visitors a space marked by the gentle passage of light trails across the natural surface of the stone. The inauguration of the paving, held with a solemn ceremony on November 9, 2015, represents the first realization in a series of works focused on the conservation restoration of the Redipuglia Military Shrine and on redefining the role of the “House of the Third Army” within the Park of Remembrance.

A geometric pattern of black triangular tiles with white lines outlining each tile, creating a sparkling, mosaic-like surface.
Nighttime view of a grid-like structure with glowing lines, leading to a large illuminated building in the distance.
Technical drawing of a geometric pattern of white lines on a black background, with labels and measurements in Italian, showing a grid and detailed measurements for design: "Schema di posizionamento delle fughe di larghezza 11 mm".
Floor with geometric tiles undergoing repair or renovation, with some tiles removed exposing the underlying structure, and a person walking past.
A detailed scientific coating or geological chart with a black background, featuring a complex grid pattern made up of small triangles in varying shades of gray. The chart includes measurements along the top, left, and bottom edges, and Italian text at the bottom indicating it is a map of stone positioning based on prevalent tones, scaled at 1:50.
Stacks of patterned stone tiles on wooden pallets at an outdoor warehouse.
An outdoor display of various stone samples, including marble and granite, arranged on wooden tables for selection, with a man examining one of the stone pieces in the background.
Architectural blueprint of a building's foundation layout with detailed grid and measurements.
Colorful geometric tile floor with various shades of gray, white, beige, pink, and green arranged in triangles and other polygon shapes.
A detailed architectural plan of different types of stones used in construction, including technical specifications, surface decoration instructions, and regional distribution, displayed in a grid format with measurements.
Close-up view of a mosaic floor composed of variously colored and shaped tiles, creating a geometric pattern.
Close-up of a mosaic tiled floor with various colored triangular and diamond-shaped tiles.
Aerial view of a large memorial with a wide staircase leading to a flat platform, flanked by two flagpoles with the Italian flags, surrounded by trees and fields, with a cityscape and farmland in the background.

Design Year: 2015

Construction Years: 2015

Location:

Via III Armata, Fogliano Redipuglia (GO), Italy

Architecture, Interior and Landscape Design:

Orazio Carpenzano Architetto

Design Principal:

Orazio Carpenzano

Design Team:

Tommaso Pallaria, Paolo Marcoaldi, Fabio Balducci, Alessandra Di Giacomo, Mauro Pagliaretti, Davide Pirillo, Alessandro Pirisi, Giulia Spiridigliozzi.