The article presents the urban layout, which is a best-preserved example of industrial estates in northern Italy. The subject of the research is a public space of the Crespi d’Adda settlement in the Province of Bergamo in Lombardy. Particular attention is paid to green areas occurring there, and their current use. Program of the public areas was very varied. The main role, besides the factory, held the public park, which is an important compositional and ideological. element of the layout. Research task was to show on example of Crespi, the current situation of former settlements in northern Italy, which are for the author reference material for settlements analyzed in Poland.

This paper is dedicated to Voivodship Park of Culture and Recreation in Chorzów (Silesia Park) – one of the biggest of its kind in Poland and in Europe (ca. 600 ha of total area). Construction of the Park had begun in 1954 according to the design under the direction of prof. Władysław Niemirski. After many years it became an example of successful land remediation and re-naturalization of anthropogenic landscape. The whole facility though formally created in socrealism style, actually represents classical modernism’s features inspired probably by American parks with a rich recreation program.

The analysis of provisions of Local Spatial Management Plans and selected cases of practical implementation of such provisions showed, that the provisions of spatial law practically stay without any relation to rules of urban composition and spatial order. The research was limited to analysis of urban composition, without considering all the conditions for planning process and its results. The town planning is treated in this article as planned space resulted from clear urban concept based on general urban composition rules. Town planning does not refer in this case to spatial chaos which can be a result of implementation of Local Spatial Management Plan.

Similarly to many towns in Galicia, Rzeszów has gained street planting at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In the period after World War II, little attention was paid to them. It is only from the beginning of the first decade of the 21st century, that we have seen a clear breakthrough. “Modernized” forms of planting are returning to historical places, and new communication arteries are planted with numerous specimens of tree, perennial and seasonal plants, well selected in terms of habitat requirements.

Silesia Park in Chorzów was established on land of poor quality and partially degraded. 60 years since that event, the research have been carried out to identify both the degree of structural preservation of the Park Stand’s structure in relation to the original design goals and also the direction of any changes – due to the effects of years of land remediation and the flora’s natural succession. It was found that vegetation of Silesia Park remains, in general, consistent with its original master plan, however, after 60 years significant changes have occurred, affecting the Park’s function, its general form and landscape values.

Applying the commonly accepted definitions of identity to landscape as our field of research, in particular landscape in protected areas, we assume that identity is the deepest relationship with the landscape (surroundings) perceived by man, with its historical layers of content (the culture and tradition of a place) and form (the canon of a place). An evaluation of change in time should be the keynote of deliberations on place identity. Basing on the current status of research, a review of specialist literature and the author’s experience to date, the above definitions and terms may be referenced to talk about “former” and “new” place identity, especially if we acquiesce to what is termed “the culture of a place” that originates in love for it and willingness to participate in the act of creation that has been launched upon the site. Author tries to explain this fenomenom on example of revitalization, on scale of conntry or even the Europe – the cultural – strategic landscape od Zamość Fortress.

A meadow, a flowery meadow, a clearing, a lawn – smoothly trimmed, flat and recessed, a grassy pathway – these are elements of gardens that have been known for centuries, used in different styles and different types of gardens, including in public spaces. Pratum commune, commons or grassy mounds are the landmarks of the landscape of many a city, both currently and throughout history. Decorative grasses, such as pampas, Miscanthus or Pennisestum started to be used in garden compositions in XIX-century England. Initially more so due to their peculiarity than beauty. However, it was naturalism that gave rise to the wider use of grasses in gardens and parks in various places of the world and gained many propagators, including W. Robinson, J. Jensen K. Foerster and P. Oudolf.Grasses are currently often designed by landscape architects in urbanised spaces. They are employed both in geometric and freeform compositions. Their texture and delicate colour create a background for more expressive plants. They often constitute the key element of naturalist layouts, and the use of domestic species aids in preserving biodiversity and recreating the domestic landscape. Many of these current projects have been discussed in magazines and subject literature and have received awards in competitions. This review article is devoted to this subject.

Palace-and park complexes play very important role in the art of gardening. Contemporarily, they draw from historic experience, taking into account also modern solutions. Nowadays, to raise the value of the above mentioned objects, elements enlivening the given area – compositions made of flowers. Part of flower beds reconstruct historic layouts, others are new elements designed to add additional aesthetic value.

The metropolis of Barcelona is one of the first ten Europe's urban agglomerations. The geographic and natural conditions of the city - located in area between the sea and the forested mountain ranges running parallel to the coast and divided by broad river valleys - have considerably influenced the formation of its hybrid urban structure. The heart of the agglomeration is still Barcelona, established by the Phoenicians in a natural port at the foot of the Montjiuc hill, growing together with its neighbouring towns for more than two thousand years now, incessantly filling one fragment of natural landscape after another with urban fabric. Monumental edifices and high-rise buildings erected in all historic periods have been inorming visitors of the power of teh city and the same time defining places which are important for its urban composition and status. Recent decades have brought no revolutionary changes in this trend. What was changed, though, are the architectural forms of those most emblematic structures in the scale of the metropolis.

Most of the medieval Italian cities are civitas born of the ruins of the ancient Roman civilization. Their beauty ist the origin for deep esthetical experiences, to which Sławomir Gzell gave the name bellezza. There are a few characteristic features composing the "picturesqueness", painterliness and harmony of those cities, which lead the observer to strong emotions and constant, sensual exploration. The author contemplates the aspects creating the phenomrnon of beauty of Italian cities and towns - which are the metapfor of human desires and deepest cravings.