Ringpromenade project kicks off to give Bolzano a new lease of life

The Ringpromenade is much more than a landscape route. This project is part of the objectives set by the Bolzano Green Plan, which was approved in March 2022. It is a long-term environmental improvement strategy designed to increase urban biodiversity with a dense mesh of blue-green infrastructure and public spaces capable of bringing the community closer to nature while promoting the capital’s natural capital.

The new green belt results from a ten-year commitment to Bolzano by the international landscape consultancy LAND led by Andreas Kipar. An important goal, matured from the exploration of new scenarios, enriched by the fruitful collaboration with the administration – in particular with the Councillor for Culture and the Environment, Chiara Rabini, and with the Head of the Technical Environmental and Green Planning Service, Matthias Zingerle, and before him Esther March – and the local realities to give life to the aforementioned Green Plan.

This 30 km circuit, designed with the local support of ingena srl, will run along the mountain slopes and urban areas of Bolzano, bringing them together through 12 stages that can also be travelled individually, each one characterised by a specific theme. This will create an ecosystem of pedestrian and cycling routes capable of rediscovering the local area’s identity and vocation.

The objective of the LAND project is to make the landscapes and places of interest of the Bolzano belt areas more accessible, declined through three main guidelines: to explore the routes of the territorial palimpsest for a regeneration that offers a slow alternative to the city rhythm; to connect the existing network with activities and services with a view to city marketing and territorial brand identity; to enhance the historical and cultural excellences of Bolzano through a single system, usable on foot or by bicycle by a wide number of users.

„For some time now, Bolzano has been on a virtuous path to becoming an increasingly green city,“ said Andreas Kipar, CEO and co-founder of LAND. „By reconnecting pre-existing thematic, natural and spatial areas, the Ringpromenade will become a necklace of nature available to citizens. A new urban model of experiencing nature outside the home will accompany Bolzano’s evolution from a Nature-positive City to a Nature-positive Landscape, connecting the city’s fabric to the landscapes of its surroundings in the name of liveability, sustainability and biodiversity.“ 

From the agricultural landscape to the historical paths, such as the Guncina and St. Oswald promenades, from panoramic viewpoints to the main centres of cultural interest, such as the Colle and Sigmundskron Castle, the twelve stages of the Ringpromenade – some of which already exist and some still to be built – will create heterogeneous ‚pearl necklace‘, to be discovered by walking along, following the different degrees of difficulty and types of use.

To complement the measures to enhance and improve the area’s landscape and environment, LAND will also prepare equipment elements—including rest areas and belvederes—and information and orientation signs to identify and improve the itinerary’s use. A marketing activity, including a logo, a website, and an app for citizens, is also planned.

The Ringpromenade constitutes a unique opportunity to trigger the other environmental improvement actions envisaged by the Green Plan through public-private cooperation, with a view to sustainability and fostering citizens’ well-being.

The work will take place over the next five years and will start in 2025.