La Masseria di Cornaredo

La Masseria di Cornaredo in Lugano-Porza (CH)

Brother Martino Dotta is well-known in the Swiss Canton of Ticino for his commitment to those less fortunate and for doing as much as he can to create a support network for people in need. For months, he could regularly be found on Via Sonvico at the corner of Via Trevano at the northern edge of Lugano at least once a week. His passionate efforts led to a modern community centre being created in a deeply historic building. Swiss parquet manufacturer Bauwerk Parkett supported this project as part of its Parquet Magic 2023 campaign. Bauwerk Parkett continuously promotes charitable projects. Every year, the company encourages nonprofit organisations and associations to apply for a parquet donation. "It is specifically in these times that are so challenging to many people that we strive to make a positive mark on our society," explained Silvio Albertoni, Sales Director for Switzerland at Bauwerk Group. The applicants the company selects receive a donation in the form of a parquet floor. For La Masseria di Cornaredo, the Swiss company delivered 150 square metres of Monopark Oak Crema and 180 square metres of on-edge oak solid parquet, as well as helping to usher in a new chapter in the history of La Masseria di Cornaredo.

A brown habit and a yellow builder’s helmet, an enthusiastic gaze, a friendly smile and eyes sparkling whenever he talks about the project: this is Brother Martino Dotta, Director of the “Francesco” Foundation in Ticino, a frequent visitor to the construction site. When he took the initiative, he was thinking of those who needed help. And in Switzerland, the number of people in deed is noticeably rising. His idea could be described as a ‘win-win’: La Masseria di Cornaredo is a farmstead compound with rustic Lombard architecture, an important witness to the local culture of Lugano. It stood empty for over thirty years. The Capuchin friar proposed bringing a new and meaningful use to this historical, halfdecayed agricultural building, offering a space that is open to all people, whether poor or wealthy. Today, La Masseria di Cornaredo, also known as the “building yard for solidarity”, is a social hub that offers many things: There is a community centre with a social services office, a social canteen, shower and laundry room, where people without a permanent home can also rest, supplemented by a restaurant with eight double rooms, a meeting room and a shop selling local produce.

As you enter the site through its gate, the three wings of La Masseria appear to embrace the inner courtyard of the building, the idyllic core of the entire compound that is open to everyone. A restaurant welcomes guests on the ground floor in the spaces formerly used as a stable and a barn, with fifty seats inside, and thirty more on the outside. In the rear, there is a large kitchen used by the restaurant, as well as the social canteen with around sixty seats in total. On the same floor is the old and restored La Masseria wine press, made of chestnut, which is a historical object officially protected by the Canton. The room in which it is located is currently used to sell local products and hold small events. The eight double rooms even host tourists wanting to spend the night at the Masseria: As Brother Martino emphasises, the rooms are deliberately kept open to encourage interaction between guests and those in need. To the rear of La Masseria, there is the Bethlehem Centre, which enjoys a view of the forest and offers travellers and those in need a chance to shower, wash their clothes, leave their baggage in a safe place, and to meet other people. It has a recreation room for rest and relaxation. The social canteen, overlooking the courtyard, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day.

La Masseria di Cornaredo is located in the part of the extensive grounds that once belonged to the chapter of the canons of Lugano Cathedral. The municipality bought it in 1913, and it has stood empty since 1989. The building's Via Trevano facade remained in almost its original form. Otherwise, La Masseria is a pleasant combination of restored rural architecture elements and modern components. One of these components is the on-edge oak solid parquet by Bauwerk Parkett. Referred to as ‘solid parquet’, this parquet is extremely durable, long-lasting and robust, and is a timeless classic from Bauwerk Parkett's product range. Back in 1935, Ernst Göhner developed the idea of mass-producing solid parquet, before founding Bauwerk Parkett in 1944. The solid oak wood in a lively grading fits very naturally in spaces with exposed historical masonry walls and ceiling beams. It gives the room a calm and generous base, communicating soundness and stability to the people that walk on it. "It was an honour for us to support the Francesco Foundation. It is such an important task to encourage the creation of spaces for social integration and to offer people direct humanitarian support," said Marcel Scheidegger, Sales Manager for Ticino at Bauwerk Group. "We are also happy to be a part of something bigger, like La Masseria, which has become the inspiring and friendly place it is today with support from Rotary Club Lugano Lago and other private charities."

Studio di Architettura Roberto Marcon SA, Melide (CH)

Stadt Lugano (CH)

Fondazione Francesco per l’aiuto sociale
Fra Martino Dotta
Bellinzona (CH)
www.fondazionefrancesco.ch

Rotary Club Lugano Lago (CH)
www.rotary-luganolago.org