New lighting for the Massa Marittima town centre

Between late 2023 and early 2024, the Massa Marittima municipal authorities launched a project financed through a regional tender, to regenerate the town’s urban spaces and enhance its shopping areas. The project was developed by iGuzzini in line with the concept and design created by the architects Lorenzo Perini and Mauro Strozzieri from the PLS DESIGN studio in Florence with the support of architect Federica D'Elia. 
The main aim of the project was to improve the efficiency of the public lighting system and accentuate the beauty of the town's historic centre, also at night. 

The first step was to replace the existing luminaires that were obsolete, inefficient and inconsistent in terms of their shape, style and performance with new ones offering superior quality and greater energy efficiency. 
The project focused on Piazza Garibaldi and the main buildings overlooking it, like the Saint Cerbonius Cathedral, the Bishop's Palace, the Pretorio Palace (home to the tourist office and archaeological museum), the Town Hall and Palazzo Malfatti. The project also included lighting for Via Ximenes and the Palazzo delle Fonti dell'Abbondanza. 
The lighting for the square is designed to emphasise and highlight the architecture of the Cathedral with a dramatic, scenic effect that enhances the entire historical context. The lighting is divided into ‘light scenes’ whose different layers overlap to generate both general lighting with white light and accent lighting to highlight the architectural details. 
 
The main luminaires used are Palco InOuts that produce soft, diffuse lighting from their position below the eaves of buildings and Agora floodlights that provide warm white light and coloured light scenarios, controlled by a Master Pro system. For special occasions, ordinary white light is transformed into more spectacular and dynamic effects that highlight the architectural details of the Cathedral complex and the Museum façade. 
 
The façade of the Town Hall, whose architecture does not permit luminaires to be installed on it directly, is illuminated by floodlights mounted on the buildings opposite. This façade is normally ‘washed’ by 3000 K light.  
Special care has been taken over the loggia of the Fonte dell’Abbondanza (Fountain of Abundance). This has a spectacular and theatrical lighting design with a series of dynamic scenarios. The building that houses these historical water basins and the medieval fresco of the Tree of Fertility, is lit by various luminaires. These include Platea Pro luminaires that light the fresco and Linealuce 37s with Wall Grazing optics that highlight the bases of the arches and create attractive effects by mingling with the light beams coming from the Palco floodlights installed above. During special events, the entire building can be illuminated with the Italian tricolour thanks to Palco InOut Framers. 

On the façade opposite the Fonte dell’Abbondanza, in Via Ximenes, two Palco floodlights illuminate and elegantly frame Giampaolo Talani's painting of the sermon of Saint Bernardino. 
Alleys, like Vicolo Massaini, have also been transformed into spaces with a dramatic impact. Here, Trick luminaires with 180° light blade optics, installed on the wooden beams, create a rhythm of light and shadow that enhances the depth and texture of the walls. 
This lighting project is the first step in a wider urban regeneration programme in the town’s historic centre that includes repaving Piazza Garibaldi and replacing the tarmac in Via Ximenes with a new stone pavement.