Serre di Parco Querini (serreQuerini), Vicenza

Parco Querini takes its name from Palazzo Querini, the former residence of the Capra family. According to Italian Wikipedia, the Napoleonic map of 1813 already shows a brolo (orchard-garden), a garden and greenhouses there; the local press attributes these greenhouses to the architect Giuseppe Jappelli and dates them to the early decades of the nineteenth century, adding that they were meant to hold botanical species and ornamental plants linked to the villa and the park. The Italian Wikipedia article on the park, which mentions only ruins of greenhouses and aviaries, does not repeat this attribution.

The City expropriated 9.5 hectares in 1969 and the park opened to the public in 1971, in a state of near abandonment. Long unused, the greenhouses had largely collapsed, as a photograph from spring 2014 shows. The City's press release puts the investment at 1.85 million euros, spread over five interventions.

MAP Studio's project was criticised by Civiltà del Verde and Italia Nostra Vicenza, who gathered 2,000 signatures. According to the local outlet vez.news, two extraordinary appeals filed in 2020 targeted a variant approved in 2019 that raised the roof by 35 cm; on 16 April 2025 the Council of State gave an opinion partly in favour of the associations, pending a presidential decree, and they conclude that the building is unlawful. The City denies any abuse and says the authorisations preceded the works. The greenhouses opened to the public on 21 March 2026.

The present building is conceived as a casket. According to the project website, an envelope of dark sheet metal and glass protects the historic walls and sets them off with slits of light in the roof and facade. A local article describes a parallelepiped of black metal inserted into the void left by the collapsed old building; only the parts still standing were restored, such as the turret with Neo-Gothic windows facing the small neoclassical temple of the park.

The whole covers about 330 m². The City's concession notice distinguishes a cold house of about 80 m², a belvedere of 87 m², a warm house of 92 m² and a portico of 72 m². In the cold house, a long counter of wood burnt in the Japanese shou sugi ban technique runs across the room; the charred timber is combined with the surviving pillars, frames and finishes. The project website names Omodeistudio for the architectural design of the café, and the City's press release names MAP Studio for the redevelopment of the building.

The warm house, of about 92 m², is presented by the City as an immersive space rich in plants and greenery; the garden designer Thomas Pellizzaro is named as the planting designer. The concession notice provides there, in view of the building's original purpose, for the display of plants and flowers, with or without sale, and possibly small related objects. The café's website stresses natural light, silence and the view of the park.

The cold house holds the counter; the café describes itself as a 'caffetteria botanica', with breakfasts, pastries, simple lunches and aperitifs. A local article stresses the large glazed surfaces, the constant dialogue with the greenery of the park and the presence of plants inside.

The greenhouses stand near the viale Rodolfi entrance, in Parco Querini, a public park of some 12 hectares open since 1971, where one can also see a small monopteral temple of 1820 on an islet in the pond and a 'science park' inaugurated in 2010.

The café is open Tuesday to Sunday according to its website, which calls these hours temporary, and organises meetings and workshops. It is run by the social cooperative AgenDo, which works for the autonomy and employment of people with Down syndrome, under a three-year concession; the City's press release expects some twenty people with Down syndrome to work there in rotation. Opening should be checked before a visit, given the dispute over the works.