The history of Castiglione del Lago is closely linked to its geopolitical position. The fortified town rises on a peninsula that juts out from the west into Lake Trasimeno. The promontory on which it stands has strongly characterized the urban structure. The old town is surrounded by medieval walls and is divided into two parts that extend along a main east to west axis. There are three access doors, three streets, three gardens of the Royal Palace. The strong axiality of the urban system directs the uses and social life of the city. Via Vittorio Emanuele, in fact, is the main public space of the historical center and from Porta Senese connects Piazza Mazzini, Piazza Gramsci and Palazzo della Corgna. Ideal terminal of this sequence is the Rocca del Leone with its courtyard, the last manmade artifact on Lake Trasimeno.

In this way, the proposal aims to project this axis within the Castle, creating an ideal continuity of the centrality of the historic town. The idea of integrating the Courtyard of the castle in an uninterrupted path of the public spaces of the city, elevates the Castle to be part of the contemporary landscape and not only to historical heritage to admire. The design of the Court therefore, develops along this main axis. To recover the value of the church as a point of aggregation of people, it, in this new design, plays a central role. The space is reinforced by the implementation of new trees on the sides and the positioning of the Coffee-Book in axis with the church, creating a synergy between the pre-existent and the new pavilion and generating a dynamic space of social interaction. A small rest point in the museum path, a foyer that precedes public events in the Arena experience.

The entrance foyer with the church and the Café-Book introduces the cavea of the arena. The space of the Court extends over it, through the creation of three volumes that generate three terraces overhanging the flooded stalls while maintaining the share of the court.
The natural slope of the ground on the sides of the Arena gradually reveals the new buildings that appear, like the structure of the Castle, as “bastions”. The elevated and spatially dominant position of the “bastions” serves as the epilogue of the museum itinerary and as a prologue to the evening events. The terraces offer an accessible, inclusive and flexible space to accommodate many functions.

They allow people with limited mobility to approach the stage and enjoy events. They create expansion zones of the audience to accommodate more spectators with the placement of removable seats. They can also be used as spaces for alternative performances and small live-sessions. The new volumes on the sides host storage rooms deemed necessary for the operation of the Arena. The central volume houses the control room. In this way the intervention integrates in the new design of the Arena all the functions necessary for the event, favoring the spatial continuity of the Courtyard of the Castle.