Florence airport terminal will have a vineyard roof

This will probably be Europe’s first airport vineyard

Aeroporto Firenze-Peretola, formerly known as Amerigo Vespucci Airport, will probably become the first airport in Europe to feature its own in-house vineyard. The City of Florence announced that it has hired the famous US design studio Rafael Viñoly Architects to design and implement the project as part of revamping its international flights terminal.

The vineyard will cover the entire roof of the terminal and will consist of 38 rows of grape-producing vines. The entire surface of the terminal will be 50,000 square metres.

Symbol of Tuscany’s appeal

Airports are often drab and non-impressive structures where people must go by necessity as they fly in or out of their destinations. The proposed design seeks to change this concept for these public transport hubs.

The choice for the vineyard was not random as the idea is that it will represent and communicate the essence of Tuscany to passengers as they come in from above. And that essence is the rolling hills and the famous wines of the Italian region.

The idea seems quite unique, although according to Euronews, there’s one other airport – a small private airport in California located in a vineyard – that has tried combining the two seemingly un-combinable types of places.

A leading vintner from the region will cultivate the vineyard and the wine will be crafted and aged in specialised cellars beneath the terminal’s roof,” a spokesperson for Rafael Viñoly Architects explains.

This shows that the plan is not just to add a splash of green to the grey industrial airport landscape but to make it truly functional on its own.

The revamping of the terminal will also involve turning the entire runway 90 degrees in order to improve public transport modality links through a new light rail system.

However, if you’re already thirsting for a sip of Tuscan airport-made wine, you will have to prepare to wait a bit. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2035, although the first phase will be done by 2026.