The municipal administration allocates 216 thousand euros for the restoration and reconstruction of the ancient walls of via Carrera in the historic center of Mel.
The executive project was approved in recent days, which will lead to the start of construction in the coming months. The objective is to carry out conservative interventions while maintaining the historical and functional aspects of the medieval road unaltered, as evidence of the past.
The works will affect the portions that delimit the street starting from the first time going down from Mel (excluding the portico) up to the belvedere, and the wall subsequently upstream. The other wall sections, in fact, have already been rearranged previously. However, the most compromised section appears to be the central one, for which it will be necessary to secure the parts that present the greatest possibility of collapse through a wooden arch.
We will then continue with other consolidation interventions which may be of various types depending on the type of instability present. In the collapsed or otherwise unstable parts of the masonry, the ashlars will be removed and stacked at the foot of the wall waiting to be repositioned; in areas with cracks the wall will instead be consolidated through injections with a mixture of natural hydraulic lime.
From a historical point of view, the walls that delimit the long path that climbs from the Puner locality towards the town of Mel appear to be from the Middle Ages, mostly made up of large stone blocks laid dry and still visible in the area inferior.
The entrance on via Carrera, located behind the town hall, is highlighted by a large round arch and a succession of barrel vaults which support the ancient residence of the Conti family, later purchased by the Pivetta-Stefani family.
In different eras the walls were restored using mostly the ashlars from the collapses, but with different techniques and, in some cases, retreating from the original plan. In other maintenance interventions, mostly in the central section, the laying plan of the stones was maintained together with smaller and more homogeneous pieces.
The walls, to date, present various areas of landslides, accompanied over time by further criticalities due to the lack of homogeneity of the walls. In some cases, clear cracks have arisen.
Much of the masonry is covered in areas with moss, lichens and various vegetation, which risks preventing rainwater from draining and over the years can accentuate the thrust of the ground against the structure, thus causing new lesions. For this reason, in addition to the arrangements, the walls will also be cleaned of dirt and put back on track.
«By redeveloping the walls we are giving a new luster to the municipal capital of Mel», says the mayor Stefano Cesa, «and to the entire Zumella community, already rich in history, but enhancing even more the artistic and cultural and at the same time tourist aspect. Via Carrera was not one of the most important access roads to the town, but it appears to be among the most beautiful historic streets of the village and therefore an object of historical memory. Given the hill where the town of Mel is located, the Carrera served as a link between the historic center and the “Borgo”, once the site of artisan activities with two mills and a water forge, to then continue towards the stream Puner and start the ascent towards Passo Praderadego».