<p><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; color: #000000; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">La scelta del sito dove sorse il Quartiere Umberto I fu di competenza del Comune che ritenne perfetta allo scopo la zona di </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Piandarana, nell'area Ovest di Spezia: </strong>l</span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">a sua posizione al di sopra del livello del mare di circa 10 metri, </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">garantiva igiene e</span></span><span style="color: #000000;"> salubrità </span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">rispetto ad altre località.</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Era inoltre</span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong> abbastanza ampia </strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">da contenere agevolmente, non solo un quartiere come l'Umberto I nei termini del progetto ideato, ma anche </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>abitazioni di privati</strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>negozi</strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>una grande piazza</strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (dedicata prima a Umberto I, poi a Brin), </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>un asilo e una scuola </strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">per i figli degli operai, e </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>una Chiesa</strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></span><br /><br /></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>L'origine</strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> del nome Piandarana, è </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>abbastanza incerto </strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">e vi sono varie teorie a riguardo:</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; color: #000000; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">alcuni pensano che possa essere ricondotto al fatto che </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><em><span style="font-weight: normal;">"là, un tempo, gracidava la rana"</span></em></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> perchè</span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong> il terreno era paludoso</strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">;</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #000000;"> </span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ubaldo Formentini invece ricorda che il territorio un tempo era sotto il potere dei </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Marchesi Ariana</strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">;</span></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #000000;"> </span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">secondo altri studi invece deriverebbe dal nome di </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>Arria</strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">, moglie del senatore romano Trasea Peto, padrona di queste terre intorno al III secolo D.C.</span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Il </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>toponimo Piandarana non è andato perduto:</strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> è conservato ancora oggi, non più a denominazione di una zona spezzina, ma di una </span></span><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>via situata a lato della Parrocchia di Nostra Signora della Salute</strong></span><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #000000;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; color: #000000; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; color: #000000; font-size: small;"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: verdana, geneva; font-size: x-small;"><img class="caption" src="images/pianda.jpg" border="0" alt="Targa di Via Piandarana a lato della Chiesa di N.S.della Salute" title="Targa di Via Piandarana" /><br /></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; color: #000000; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; color: #000000; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva; color: #000000; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></p>