Places in Prato:
Renewed spaces

Piazza Olmi Cafaggio

The design aims to redevelop the main square of the village of Cafaggio and give it unity. The square is considered a strategic place for the whole community, as this is where its Church, a small memorial monument to the civilian victims of the Second World War, and the parish Recreational Club are located.
Currently the spaces of the square are not organized and traffic separates the Church forecourt from the other areas. The whole square is used as an untidy parking area, taking room away from pedestrians.
There are no sidewalks along the roads leading to the square and inefficient rainwater management means that puddles prevent the transit of pedestrians when it rains.
In addition, the square is without a bus shelter, making the use of public transport unattractive and unsafe, especially for the elderly.

On the basis of this assessment, the main aim of the redevelopment project is to transform what has been defined by local people as a "non place", essentially a wider transit route, into a real square, a meeting place, completely integrated with its surrounding space.
As it is not possible to completely eliminate road traffic from the square, it had been decided to create a 30km/h area, clearly marked out with different paving material, where cars and pedestrians are on the same level. The 30km/h area includes the whole space in front of the church forecourt, the space in front of the cemetery and the whole street connecting the church and the cemetery, thus taking into consideration all the activities of the place.

The entire 30km/h area is higher than the access roads, and paved with the same material, so that travelling by car one has the sensation of leaving the road and entering a real square that is also for the use of pedestrians.
Through this design, which temporarily interrupts traffic flow, the square can also be used for commerce (markets, festivals and fairs).
The project also involves the creation of a connecting cycle/pedestrian path that leaves from via Roma, at the centre of the village of Cafaggio, runs along via del Ferro, reaches the Church in Piazza Olmi and continues to the cemetery.