Trieste Promenade

Lignano Sabbiadoro is a small seaside village in the north-east of Italy that is a popular tourist destination, but in recent times the Trieste Promenade had increasingly become a dividing element between the beach and the village, so it was decided to revamp a stretch about 2 km long and 20 m wide.

In such a context, the new pavement and the choice of urban furniture were specifically chosen to heal this fracture so locals and tourists would have a space to enjoy, to walk on, to cycle on and from which to gaze out to sea in company.

However, the seafront promenade also needed to be durable despite the freezing temperatures in winter, the regular thawing after cold snaps, the salty air and even the spray coming off the sea on windy days. And this is where Mapei’s expertise was essential, especially in selecting the ideal products. For example, the sidewalks on the northern section, the plazas and the crosswalks were made with Mapestone for grouting architectonic stone floors, but the sidewalks and the cycle path on the southern side were made with Mapei Color Paving for architectural concrete paving because this line of products can be used to design concrete surfaces meeting local mechanical and environmental demands with a customized combination of aggregates, color and exposure depth.

Both these products produce sustainable solutions because of their excellent chemical and mechanical resistance, a factor that significantly cuts maintenance and refurbishment work, with the knock-on savings in manpower and materials.

Mapestone has an additional environmental benefit as it can be supplied in portable silos, rather than the lined bags, and so the silos can be re-used multiple times over decades.

Finally, Mapewash PO, a biodegradable, oil-based surface set retardant that is environmentally friendly, proved to be a particularly suitable product for this project as the location not only required looking after the beach, but also protecting the local plants and trees. In 2018, the entire project for the revamp of this seafront area received a Mapei Award for “Systems for the redevelopment of high-quality architectural surfaces” as part of the Cresco Awards for sustainable cities.