La Scena della laguna: riqualificazione del Forte di Sant’Andrea al Lido

The Republic of Venice, starting from the 16th century, found itself facing a crucial phase of political and economic change compared to the status quo achieved in previous centuries. In this context, new currents of thought and a new architectural taste aimed at expressing continuity and legitimacy toward the classical civilization of ancient Rome were introduced. Numerous figures emerged from a cultural environment increasingly linked to the political needs of the doge. Among these, it is particularly interesting to analyze the one of Michele Sanmicheli, intrinsically linked to the architectural expressions of power and control that Venice exercised over a large part of the Adriatic coast of the Balkans. This study aims to outline a relationship between architecture and power in 16th-century Venice, as well as the identification of a common Kunstwollen between ethical and aesthetic choices of the period, taking the work of Sanmicheli as a case study, with particular attention to the Forte di Sant’ Andrea, a scenic-war machine for the defense of the city located in Venice near the Isola delle Vignole and the port of Lido. The study, after a phase of historical analysis, sets itself the objective of achieving a project phase aimed at recovering the structure of the Forte by offering new possible functions, thus outlining a vision of use and new life for an architecture as extraordinary as it has been a victim of abandonment and degradation over the last fifty years. The project provides a new interpretation for the visitor, as well as a new use capable of restoring the Forte to its role as the first lagoon mirage of Venetian beauty, placing it once again in connection through a common function with the nearby Arsenale and at the same time, through respect for the ancient structures and the history of the site, bringing out the natural vocations that the Forte has had over the centuries, making them possible in our contemporary world.