Last updated: September 2024
Del Nervi Park is a project co-led by the Port System Authority of the Sardinian Sea and the Municipality of Cagliari. Completed in 2021, it transformed a long-abandoned and degraded area on the Cagliari waterfront into a vibrant green space. The two-hectare site surrounds a 1950s industrial building and underwent extensive redevelopment to enhance its structural integrity and convert it into a public park. With a budget exceeding 5 million euros, the project prioritized green investments by creating new pedestrian and cycling paths, along with green spaces featuring local plants, flower beds, grass, and lawns. Nervi Park is set to become a key destination for leisure, sports, and cultural activities, while also providing the Cagliari community with greater access to green spaces. The environmental and urban renewal efforts aimed to beautify and modernize the area, with future development plans focusing on long-term management and the introduction of commercial activities to further enhance the space The project faced significant barriers, including prolonged disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which halted work for about eight months. (Refs. 1, 2, 3 & 4).
Parco Nervi
https://monumentiaperti.com/it/monumenti/parco-nervi/
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Blue infrastructure
- Coastlines
- Parks and urban forests
- Large urban parks or forests
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Regeneration, land-use and urban development
- Conversion of former industrial areas
- Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
- Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Environmental education
- Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
- Economic development: service sectors
- Tourism support
Principal problems in Functional Urban Area (FUA)
- Environmental Degradation
- Soil degradation and loss
- Land use and Socio-economic change
- Limited economic opportunities and local livelihoods
- Health, Well-being and Social cohesion
- Inadequate access to recreational opportunities
Key priorities
Social Justice and community
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Creation of large parks and urban and peri-urban forests, Coastal landscape management or protection, Coastal ecosystems restoration and maintenance (mangroves, dunes, saltplains, underwater meadows), Improving coastal resilience, Transformation of previously derelict areas, Post-industrial site regeneration, Transformation of vacant land into green spaces
Project objectives
The intervention aims:
To revitalize a degraded, former industrial area on the Cagliari waterfront, which had been abandoned since the 1980s
To transform an abandoned site into a green space and preserve its industrial heritage
To create new public spaces for leisure, sports, and educational activities by including nature and educational trails
To improve access to green areas and to the nearby San Bartolomeo Canal and the Molentargius salt pans, promoting sustainable tourism
To boost social and economic activities through future commercial opportunities by renovating the site that will boost new economic activities (restaurants, refreshment points on the promenade, recreational boating)
(Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 8).
Implementation activities
The Parco del Nervi project encompassed several phases aimed at revitalizing and restoring the area. The first phase involved structural stabilization and restoration, focusing on consolidating the Capannone Nervi and the adjacent quay
(static consolidation of the former warehouse and the dock overlooking the first stretch of the San Bartolomeo canal, the recovery of the stairwell and the iron structure of the overhead crane, the maintenance of the crane)
Landscaping played a central role in the transformation, with native plants, flower beds, grass, and lawns introduced across approximately 2,000 square meters. Pedestrian and cycling paths were added to promote accessibility and sustainable mobility. The waterfront was also redeveloped, featuring a new promenade, a dock for zero-impact small boats, and a cycle-pedestrian bridge, enhancing connectivity to nearby natural attractions.
The project included the installation of lighting, urban furniture such as benches, and security cameras. In addition, specific cleaning services, green maintenance, and 24-hour video surveillance were provided to protect and care for the newly revitalized space.
(Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 8)
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Coastal-dependent communities (e.g. small-scale fishers, coastal farmers, and indigenous peoples)
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Regional government
- Local government/municipality
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Co-planning (e.g. stakeholder workshops, focus groups, participatory mapping)
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
- AdSP del Mare di Sardegna (Cagliari Port Authority): Led the project, overseeing redevelopment and future site management.
- Comune di Cagliari: Collaborated on urban planning and public access.
-Several local private companies were contracted to provide landscaping and to manage environmental renewal, including planting, lighting, and urban furniture.
Funding was provided by AdSP del Mare di Sardegna, the regional body that oversees the Port of Cagliari.
(Refs. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6).
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Type of enablers
Governance innovations (such as public private partnerships)
Financing
Total cost
More than €4,000,000
Source(s) of funding
- Public regional budget
Type of funding
- Earmarked public budget
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Water management and blue areas
- Enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Expected enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Achieved increased green space area
- Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
- Achieved increased conversion of degraded land or soil
Economic impacts
- More sustainable tourism
- Expected more sustainable tourism
- Attraction of business and investment
- Achieved attraction of business and investment
Socio-cultural impacts
- Social justice and cohesion
- Increased opportunities for social interaction
- Expected increased opportunities for social interaction
- Health and wellbeing
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Expected gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
- Achieved protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
- Safety
- Increased perception of safety
- Expected increased perception of safety
Type of reported impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Potential risks of implementation and trade-offs
Social justice and conflicts, Lack of social acceptance
References
1.
CagliariPad (2021). Una nuova area verde sul lungomare: inaugurato a Cagliari il Parco del Nervi. Cagliari: Accessed on August 12, 2024, [Source link];
2.
Autorità di Sistema Portuale del Mare di Sardegna (2021). Inaugurato il “Parco del Nervi”. Accessed on August 12, 2024, [Source link];
3.
Ansa (2021). Area verde davanti al mare, nasce a Cagliari il parco Nervi. Ansa, Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
4.
Casteddu Online (2021). Aperitivi, concerti e relax vista mare: a Cagliari nasce il “Parco del Nervi”. Cagliari: Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
5.
Daniele Melis (2009). Ex magazzini del sale a Cagliari. Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
6.
Sardegna Live (2019). Su Siccu, ecco come cambia la bellissima passeggiata davanti al porto di viale Colombo. Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
7.
Associazione per il Parco Molentargius (2011). Al via il recupero del padiglione Nervi. Unione Sarda, Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
8.
Comune Cagliari News (2023). Cagliari, parte la svolta turistica a Su Siccu: ristorante nel parco e 3 chioschi sul lungomare. Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
9.
Comune di Cagliari (2022). Atlante Demografico Cagliari 2022. Accessed on August 14, 2024, [Source link];
10.
Cilloccu, M; Portoghese, G; Marcello, F; Polo, R; Dettori, A; Lecis, M; Ortu, C; Soru, C; Benucci, M; Andreozzi, G; Massa, M; Ghirra, F (2022). Lavori fermi sul ponte ciclopedonale del canale di San Bartolomeo. Cagliari: Accessed on August 13, 2024,;
11.
Google maps - Reviews (n.d.). Parco del Nervi - Recensioni. Accessed on August 13, 2024, [Source link];
Restoration work on the iron crane structure.
Nuova Icom. 2021. “Restauro Gru Portuale, Padiglione Nervi Cagliari - Nuova Icom Srl.” Nuova Icom Srl. December 9, 2021. http://www.nuovaicom.it/restauro-gru-portuale-padiglione-nervi-cagliari/.
Photo of the park: green spaces, walking path, restaurant on the left and historical building on the right.
Autorità di sistema portuale del mare di Sardegna. 2021. “Inaugurato Il ‘Parco Del Nervi.’” Autorità Di Sistema Portuale Del Mare Di Sardegna. 2021. https://www.adspmaredisardegna.it/2021/07/30/inaugurato-il-parco-del-nervi/.
Information about this nature-based solution was collected as part of the Naturescapes project funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No 101084341.