Renaturation of Po River

Stretching 652 kilometers and covering a 71,000 km² watershed, the Po River is the principal ecological corridor of the Po Valley, running through one of Italy’s most urbanised and densely populated regions. Despite intense anthropogenic pressures, it remains a natural and social asset of extraordinary value. The Renaturation of the Po Area project was launched under Investment 3.3 of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) – Mission 2, Component 4 – to ensure the ecological and morphological restoration of the river. Its goal is to balance conservation priorities with local human activity, improving the long-term sustainability of this critical landscape.

The Action Program, coordinated by the AIPO, outlines 56 interconnected project sheets to reduce artificiality, foster biodiversity, and improve water resource management. The project combines two main components: landscape and environmental restoration — including renaturation, reforestation, and invasive species management — and hydraulic modeling and reclamation works, which involve reshaping and securing river morphology.

LAND played a leading role in this effort by designing two initial project sheets (6 and 8) and managing construction for sheet 8, to be completed by May 2025. The studio also contributed to six additional designs as part of the program’s expansion. This integrated and interdisciplinary effort demonstrates how collaborative design, ecological intelligence, and legislative alignment with the Nature Restoration Law can deliver replicable, scalable models for river regeneration.