Italy has carved out a leading role at the City’scape Award 2026, the international awards dedicated to landscape design and the transformation of urban spaces. The edition gathered 416 submissions from more than 30 countries, bringing numerous Italian interventions to the podium, spread across various categories. From waterfronts to historic gardens, from tourist routes to sports facilities, many Italian realities have earned prizes and acknowledgments.
In this article we present the main Italian awards, while the full list can be consulted on the official City’scape Award 2026 website.
Street Landscape & Slow Landscape, Slow Mobility
In the category Street Landscape & Slow Landscape, dedicated to slow mobility, bike lanes, and traffic calming, the third prize was awarded to the landscape redevelopment and safety enhancement of the Bari Sardo coastline, in Ogliastra, the stretch between Torre di Barì and Bucca ’e Strumpu. The project was conceived with the aim of reducing the burden of the road and restoring more space to the landscape, while simultaneously improving safety, accessibility, and livability of the coastal area.
The intervention covered about 13,920 square meters, of which 9,500 were allocated to permeable pavements, and it proposed a new organization of traffic, with a one-way system and a limit of 30 km/h. Pedestrian paths were separated from the roadway, while parking was moved back from the pine forest to enhance the relationship between the road, the Mediterranean vegetation, and the sea. Completing the redevelopment were added new granite seating, lighting, upgrading of the underground services, and outdoor spaces dedicated to fitness and play.
Drosscape, Redevelopment of Former Industrial Areas
In the category dedicated to the landscape redevelopment of former industrial areas, the first prize went to the Urban Beach in the San Giuliano Park of Mestre (Venice).
Among the Italian recognitions also stands the third prize ex aequo awarded to Certosa Square, Milan, a project that engages with the relationship between industrial memory and landscape transformation.
Parks & Historic Gardens, Many Italian Projects on the Podium
Parks and historic gardens is one of the categories with the widest Italian presence. Among the special prizes are:
- the Garzoni Garden, Collodi – Pescia (Pistoia),
- the garden of Palazzo Pfanner in Lucca (Lucca),
- the Park of Villa Maser, Maser (Treviso),
- the garden of Villa Gamberaia in Settignano – Florence (Firenze),
- the Botanical Garden of Villa Monastero in Varenna (Lecco),
- the park of the Magnani Rocca Foundation in Mamiano – Traversetolo (Parma),
- the historic gardens of Villa Miralfiore in Pesaro (Pesaro e Urbino),
- the Park of the Ducal Palace of Sassuolo in Sassuolo (Modena),
- the Park of Villa Rezzola in Pugliola – Lerici (La Spezia),
- the Serres of Graefer, the English Garden of the Caserta Royal Palace, Caserta (Caserta),
- the Paternò del Toscano Park – The Garden on the Lava at Sant’Agata li Battiati (Catania).
Tourism Landscape, Designing the Landscape for Tourism
The Tourism Landscape category saw two important Italian ex aequo recognitions in third place. They are the new guided visit route to the paleontological site of Monte Zugna (Trento) and the regeneration of the waterfront of Cesenatico Ponente (Forlì-Cesena). Two different interventions, united by the objective of enhancing the landscape and rendering it an integral part of the tourist experience.
