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EUROPEAN GARDEN AWARD
How a former airport in Vicenza became one of Europe’s award winning urban landscapes
Explore 65 hectares of wetlands, canals and woodland on a former airfield
A former airport in Vicenza has become a 65 hectare landscape of canals, ponds, wetlands, woodland and open ground. Around 240,000 cubic metres of earth were excavated to work with the shallow water table and local irrigation traditions, creating a park designed for walking, cycling, birdwatching and climate adaptation.
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Comune di Vicenza · CC BY 4.0
Know before you go
The park is open daily on a seasonal timetable. Hours can change for events, maintenance or special access conditions, so check the Comune di Vicenza before travelling.Hours may change for events or operational reasons The Comune currently publishes these opening hours: January to March 08:00 to 18:00, April 07:00 to 20:00, May 07:00 to 21:00, June to August 07:00 to 22:00, September 07:00 to 21:00, October 08:00 to 20:00, November 08:00 to 19:00, December 08:00 to 18:00.
Parco della Pace is one of the largest contemporary landscape projects in Vicenza.
The project received the LILA Jury Award 2025, second prize at the Green Cities Europe Award 2024, the City’Scape Award and other landscape design recognition. In 2026 it added another major international prize, first place in the European Garden Award category for climate adaptation in parks and gardens.
Around 240,000 cubic metres of earth were excavated to create the network of canals and ponds, working with the shallow water table and local irrigation traditions. What used to be an airfield is now a landscape to walk, cycle, watch birds and see how a city can give land back to water.
FROM AIRFIELD TO WATER LANDSCAPE
The project was designed by PAN Associati and EMF paisatge as an environmental and landscape regeneration of the former airport. The completed park covers about 650,000 square metres. Instead of treating water as something to drain away, the park makes it visible. Canals, ponds and areas designed to flood temporarily form part of the landscape itself.
240,000 CUBIC METRES OF EARTH
The reshaping of the former airfield required the excavation of around 240,000 cubic metres of earth. That material was reused to model the terrain while the new water network drew on the irrigation patterns traditionally found in the surrounding countryside.
A PARK THAT STORES WATER
Parco della Pace also works as a large detention basin. According to the European Garden Heritage Network, the landscape can store and gradually release up to 100,000 cubic metres of water. That hydraulic role is one of the reasons the park received the European Garden Award 2026 for climate adaptation.
WALK OR CYCLE IT
The public park contains more than 8 kilometres of paths, including pedestrian routes, crossings, small roads and unpaved cycling paths. The landscape changes between high flowering meadows, shorter lawns, woodland, islands and wet areas.
LOOK FOR WATER AND WILDLIFE
The park contains more than 9 kilometres of canals linking lakes and wetlands. The 2026 European Garden Award citation also highlighted 62,000 aquatic plants and the progressive return of native fauna, including water birds, amphibians and fish.
WHY LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS KEEP NOTICING IT
The project’s awards are tied to the same idea: converting obsolete infrastructure into a landscape that works ecologically as well as socially. LILA recognised the project in 2025, Green Cities Europe awarded it second prize in 2024, and the European Garden Award gave it first prize in its climate adaptation category in 2026.
