The present dissertation entitled “Hybrid Paths: Caves of transition to Monemvasia” examines the transition from the urban landscape to the medieval village of Monemvasia. The aim is to analyze the situation, identify the issues and to suggest a solution in order to change the island’s road and then to develop a parallel route. This project focuses on developing and revitalize the existing connecting road as a living organic element on the island of Monemvasia. In the first section we covered the search for archive material, bibliographic research, and field study. Once we had gathered enough data, we focused our attention to the road that connects the towns of Gefyra and Monemvasia. The current unfriendly condition for bikes and pedestrians pushed us to reconstruct the road. The new path remained simple: we stopped the car traffic, built a pedestrian road and added a tram to move people and goods.

 In the second part of our proposal we added a path beneath the main road. Specifically, we created a cultural path with 5 caves that serve a variety of purposes based on travellers demands. The path is situated in the final 300 meters of the road, close to the gate of the medieval village. A ramp provides entry to the caves, allowing visitors to explore the spaces and cross the rocks through narrow routes placed close to the sea.

 We wanted the purposes of our intervention to be specifically tied to the island, since the purpose of our path is to get the visitor ready for his subsequent visit to the castle, we wanted the purposes of our intervention to be specifically tied to the island. The caves especially feature a permanent exhibition about the island and its history, two movie rooms, an open-concept kitchen, a rest space, public restrooms, a disabled toilet, and an elevator.

 The entire plan was created with the intention of preserving the landscape, eradicating urban lines, and improving the access road to the island.