Location of the case study site
Source: Google maps
The case study site concerns an 8.8 ha large brownfield area (named Area 2), located in the first industrial zone of Porto Marghera, Venice municipality, Italy. Area 2 belongs to the Venice Gateway Science and Technology Park (Vega STP). The Vega STP is subdivided into four areas, numbered 1, 2, 3 and 4 (Vega, 2006). Area 1 has been regenerated between 1993 and 2006 and now hosts the six buildings of the Vega STP.
Area 2 covers the former petroleum coastal depots of the Agip company (currently Eni). Land reclamation was carried out with biopiling, which involves fertilizing the soil in order to remove hydrocarbons by bacterial digestion. A total of 34,000 tonnes of soil were remediated between 1998 and 2002. This represents the most important project in Italy using this technique. The reclamation returned a highly attractive piece of land that overlooks an important waterway leading into the Venetian lagoon.
Following a second remediation stage carried out between 2009 and 2010, the redevelopment of Area 2 recommenced in 2012 with the construction of the Expo Venice pavilion. The Expo Venice was an official side event of the Universal Exposition in Milan and its theme was “Water”.