Sustainable requalification of architectural and natural resources: the coastal village of Marzamemi

In the last ten years, the tourist flow to the Syracuse coast in Sicily has increased, implementing a process of false economic development. This phenomenon produced the collapse of the weak infrastructures network. The south-eastern Sicilian coastal band, in particular, has been spoiled by high human pressure and uncontrolled building activity, due to seasonal tourist flows. The research starts from the analysis of a pilot-case, the coastal village of Marzamemi, in the Pachino area, in order to point out guidelines for sustainable interventions aimed to enhance the natural and architectural resources. Marzamemi is a village developed around an Arab tuna factory built in the XI Century. Massive urbanization phenomena separated the Bogs area (Pantano Marzamemi Site of Community Importance) from the sea, modifying the salinas ecosystem. The present study aims at environmental requalification through the recovery of the original bog and the integration of the natural and human components of the site, in order to restore a balance in the local ecosystem. The conservation of the landscape as well as of the historical and environmental heritage allows the transformation of the site and its integration with the main tourist routes in Sicily to be carried out. The research is intended to pursue new operating tools to manage and monitor architectural, natural and environmental resources, as well as to help start processes for conservation, exploitation and sustainable development of the whole coastal village.