In early February, staff and students from Liverpool School of Architecture and Politecnico di Milano were in Italy participating in the second edition of “Vernacular Heritage and Cultural Landscapes in Lunigiana, Tuscany: from Knowledge to Preservation”. This collaborative teaching initiative, organised by Dr Giamila Quattrone (LSA, ArCHIAM), Dr Stefania Landi and Dr Paola Branduini (POLIMI, DABC, PaRID) and supported by Mulazzo Municipality, offered 33 LSA students and 16 POLIMI students an opportunity for cross-cultural knowledge building and knowledge exchange. Working at different scales, students will be developing strategies and schemes for the valorisation of the cultural heritage of Mulazzo, a small mountainous town associated with the life of Dante Alighieri, which has been chosen as the site of a vertical 2-weeks workshop for POLIMI students and the semester 2 project of RE-heritage Studio for LSA students.
Prior to the field trip, participants attended an online Colloquium where academics from Politecnico di Milano, University of Liverpool, Università IUAV di Venezia and Università di Pisa presented on rural cultural landscapes, preservation challenges for small towns and vernacular architecture, structural damage and interventions in historic masonry buildings, andheritage-led development in shrinking rural settlements.
On 3rd and 4th February, students undertook guided walks and site documentation. An exhibition of student work from the program’s first edition (2025) opened at Mulazzo Town Hall, followed by remarks by mayor Claudio Novoa and talks by Paolo Bestazzoni, head of the planning office for the union of Lunigiana’s mountain municipalities, and Gianluca Panichi, designer of the rehabilitation of Mulazzo’s old washhouse.
On 5th February, students visited Peccioli, where guided tours and talks revealed how revenue generated by its state-of-the-art landfill is reinvested in urban and building regeneration, architectural conservation, green mobility, accessible infrastructure, land and urban art.
Claudio Novoa said: “These field visits are a testament to the synergy between the University of Liverpool, Politecnico di Milano and Mulazzo Municipality, whereby research-connected teaching and institutional support come together to valorise our vernacular heritage and cultural roots. I firmly believe that this kind of cross-institutional dialogue is a fundamental pathway towards creating development opportunities for Mulazzo.
Meeting staff and students of diverse geographic backgrounds, worldviews and sensibilities has offered an opportunity for discussion of novel ideas that can meaningfully contribute to the valorisation of our territory. The exhibition of last year’s student work at the Town Hall shows the tangible outcomes of productive academia-local government collaboration and our willingness to share them with Mulazzo’s wider community. I look forward to seeing this year’s student work and I trust that there will be similar opportunities for collaboration in future years.”
Back to Liverpool, students presented their preliminary understanding of the site, acquired both in person and remotely. Knowledge exchange will continue throughout the semester with Dr Stefania Landi’s participation in RE-heritage reviews, where she will offer expert input into students’ proposals for the repurposing of a house and cellars space into a heritage visitor and their connection through and with the surrounding public space and landscape.
RE-heritage Studio Team
Dr Giamila Quattrone
Studio Lead, ArCHIAM, LSA
Matina Vrettou
ArCHIAM, LSA
Phil Owen
Huge Architects, LSA
Anthony Mackay
Mackay Architects, LSA
