Urban regeneration
Masterplan Urbanistico Ex Caserma Vittorio Veneto, Costa San Giorgio
Restoring History with Vision and Respect.
The winning project by Caire Consorzio, selected through an international competition, envisioned a new future for a place of remarkable charm: the complex that once housed the former convents of San Girolamo, San Francesco and San Giorgio, whose origins date as far back as the 15th and 16th centuries. After the unification of Italy, these spaces were first converted into barracks and later into the Military Health School.
This architectural heritage is arranged around three beautiful main courtyards, covering a total of approximately 12,500 sqm, within a 35,000 sqm area located in the most precious (and delicate) heart of Florence: the Oltrarno district, just steps from Ponte Vecchio and next to landmarks like Forte Belvedere, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens.
The idea? To bring new life to the complex by opening it up to hospitality and to the city itself.
The owner’s aim was clear: to gather proposals that could transform this historic site into a prestigious hospitality venue, assessing its feasibility from urban planning, morphological and functional, technical, landscape and economic perspectives.
Caire Consorzio sought to enhance a project that requires vision, sensitivity and respect. We are talking about a unique, protected asset located in an area subject to landscape restrictions. This is why the work began with thorough historical research and the definition of a functional programme designed not only to support its new tourist use, but also to ensure partial public access to its spaces.
In this project, restoration becomes a political and cultural act: a way to return value to an extraordinary part of the city by opening courtyards and pathways that had remained closed for too long. It is an invitation to imagine a Florence that doesn’t simply preserve the past, but transforms it into an opportunity for everyone: residents, travellers and new generations alike.
This masterplan is precisely that: a concrete step towards a more open, contemporary and welcoming city.
