Outstanding places 2007

first edition, 2007

The call for the first experimental edition of the Outstanding Places competition was circulated and presented publicly in November 2006.

The deadline for the submission of nominations was April 18, 2007.

One hundred and fifty-one nominations were submitted, of which one hundred and forty-six were considered valid, covering one hundred and forty cases in sixty-three out of the ninety-five municipalities of the province of Treviso (see the list of reported sites and localisation map). All of the documents that the respondents used to illustrate their nominations and the analyses carried out by the Foundation for a representative selection of all reported sites, were displayed in the open exhibition at the culture spaces of Palazzo Bomben from 16 October, 2007 to 3 February, 2008 (free entry).

The jury of the International Carlo Scarpa Garden Prize and of the Outstanding Places competition illustrated and backed their decisions as follows during the public meeting that took place in the auditorium of Palazzo Bomben on Saturday, 20 October 2007: “The jury of the International Carlo Scarpa Garden Prize and of the Outstanding Places competition has examined the materials sent to support and illustrate the one hundred and forty nominations, displayed in the current exhibition at the open spaces of Palazzo Bomben curated by Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche. The jury expresses its greatest appreciation for the quality and impact of the materials, for the impressive work carried out to organise and display the materials, for the audiovisual aids, photography, cartography and editorial work prepared by the Foundation’s équipe.

The experimental method applied throughout the process conducted over one year allocates the investigation on the universal bond between person, nature, memory and modifying tension in an uncharted and particularly fertile terrain.

This collective study, which began through a maieutical dialogue between civil society and concerned specialists, appears as a scientific and cultural operation — necessarily spanning over several years — of absolute European excellence.

Therefore, the jury unanimously rejects any meritocratic logic and publicly acknowledges all reported sites as Outstanding Places. The extreme variety of shape, dimension and character of the reported sites — observed and described with the insight of the people who live or work there — effectively make them indispensable materials to further the knowledge of the needs, languages and preferences of communities, thus creating more advanced conditions for safeguarding and promoting appreciation for our sites, for the quality of our own life, for the future prospects of new generations.

The jury has appointed the “paediatrics oasis” of the Ca’ Foncello hospital of Treviso as the mascot of the Outstanding Places, standard-bearer for the ones on the map and talisman for those to come.”