Bioclimatic pergola or pergotenda: differences, canopy, veranda

A bioclimatic pergola is an aluminium structure with a roof of adjustable louvres, some of which also fold away into a stack; a pergotenda, or fabric pergola, has a retractable fabric roof that extends and gathers back. In Italian law both count as «tende a pergola» (pergola awnings) as long as the roof stays movable; a tettoia (canopy) has a fixed roof, a gazebo is a light freestanding structure, and a veranda is a space closed in by glass. Michelessi, stone specialists in Aprilia since 1976, sells and installs bioclimatic and fabric pergolas by Gibus, KE Outdoor Design and Pratic.

There is no answer valid for everyone: a bioclimatic pergola suits those who want to adjust light and air with louvres, a pergotenda those who prefer a fabric roof that, once gathered, leaves the sky open. What counts is exposure, wind, how the space is used and what the existing structure can carry: we check all of it at the survey.

Bioclimatic pergola: advantages and drawbacks

• Advantages: adjustable louvres control direct sun and airflow; with the louvres closed the rain is channelled into the gutters and built-in downpipes; manufacturers offer weather sensors (wind, rain and, depending on the model, sun or snow) and LED lighting.
• Drawbacks: it has more moving parts (louvres, motors, seals) that need regular cleaning and checks (maintenance, wind, snow and winter); in models whose louvres only tilt, the roof never disappears completely.

Pergotenda: advantages and drawbacks

• Advantages: with the fabric gathered back the sky is open; some roofs adapt to existing structures (Gibus) or fit between two walls without posts (Pratic Tecnic, One and Veranda).
• Drawbacks: fabric needs care in strong wind, which is why manufacturers offer sensors, and regular cleaning; shade is adjusted by extending more or less fabric rather than tilting louvres, which gives a different effect on the light.

When one suits better than the other

• A space in the afternoon sun, where light and air need adjusting: bioclimatic pergola.
• An existing structure to cover, a light well or a space between two walls: fabric pergola.
• Coast and strong wind: in both cases choose a model with a declared wind resistance. KE Outdoor Design declares, under UNI EN 13561: Kedry Skylife, Kedry Prime, Kedry Plus, Keplan, Isola 2, Gennius Vega and Xtesa, class 6 (about 88 km/h, according to its FAQ); Kedry Neos, class 5; Hydra, class 3. For other models we ask the manufacturer for the declared figure.

These structures differ in three ways: whether the roof moves, whether the sides are open, and whether the work creates volume. The table gives the most common reading; the last word belongs to the municipality and the specific case.

A tettoia is a fixed roof over an open space, carried by a discontinuous structure and meant for ancillary uses or for protected use of the grounds; a pergola has a movable roof. The difference matters for the building title: a movable pergola can fall within edilizia libera, whereas a tettoia normally requires a title, often a full building permit.

The uniform definitions of the standard building code (agreement between Government and Regions of 20 October 2016, as reported by Ediltecnico) describe the tettoia in this way and a pensilina as a cantilevered cover without vertical posts. The name on the quote matters little. According to Biblus-ACCA (15 April 2026), the Council of State (ruling 5918/2025) judged a structure with fixed posts, non-retractable slats and gutters, permanently installed on a terrace, to be a tettoia needing a building permit, and (ruling 2293/2026) stated that tettoie and bioclimatic pergolas are not automatically ancillary: if they create new volumes they count as new construction. At design stage we therefore check that the roof is truly movable and how it will be used.

A gazebo is a light structure, independent of the building and open on its sides, that is set up in the garden and can be taken down; a pergola is an aluminium structure, attached or annexed to the house and anchored, with a movable roof, normally motorised. The national Glossary of exempt works (Ministerial Decree of 2 March 2018, item 44) lists among free works the «gazebo of limited size and not permanently fixed to the ground».

The Glossary sets no measurements: «limited size» is read in the municipality's building regulations. A gazebo put up for a limited period may fall under the temporary works of letter e-bis of art. 6: 180 days at most, assembly and dismantling included, with notice of works to the municipality. A gazebo with a fixed roof, anchored to the ground and used all year round may instead be assessed as a tettoia. For freestanding structures in the garden see wall-mounted and free-standing pergolas.

A veranda is a covered space closed on its sides by glazing or transparent elements, wholly or partly openable: it is an extra room, with volume and floor area, and as a rule requires a building title. A pergola stays an open space: zip screens and sliding glass walls are movable protections, not walls.

The boundary runs through the enclosures. According to LavoriPubblici, the Campania regional administrative court (ruling 3708/2025) treated bioclimatic pergolas with adjustable louvres, closed on every side by sliding glass walls, as «a single room», that is, a new volume. A pergola permanently closed on all sides must therefore be checked with the municipality: we tell you at design stage, before ordering. Enclosures are covered in pergola enclosures: glass walls and zip screens.

Removable, fully transparent panoramic glazing (VEPA, art. 6, letter b-bis) is something else: it concerns balconies, loggias and porticoes and must stay removable and transparent, without creating permanently enclosed spaces.

A porticato (portico) is a covered space with a fixed roof carried by pillars or columns, open on one or more sides; a pergola has a movable roof, of adjustable louvres or retractable fabric. Precisely because the portico's roof does not move, the work has a building title of its own, to be settled with the municipality; a movable pergola that meets the legal conditions follows another path. That is why, faced with a fixed roof on pillars, at design stage we check how it is built and how it will be used before talking about brand and model.

A pergolato is an open structure for climbers or cloths, small and not permanently fixed to the ground; a pensilina is a cantilevered cover without vertical posts; «pompeiana» is a common term, not defined by law, that usually means a classical-style pergolato with columns. According to Ingenio, the Council of State (ruling 2603/2025) recalled that a pergolato covered with elements that are not easily removable becomes a tettoia and requires a building permit.

A serra bioclimatica (glazed sunspace) is a closed glazed volume, designed to use the sun as a source of heat: it follows a different building regime and is not a pergola. If the space you want is enclosed and usable all year round, the route is different and has to be agreed with the municipality before choosing the product; if you want an open space, with a movable roof and removable side protections, the pergola is the way.

In many cases a bioclimatic pergola or pergotenda falls within edilizia libera (exempt building works), on precise conditions: art. 6, paragraph 1, letter b-ter of the Consolidated Building Act (DPR 380/2001), introduced by the Salva Casa decree (Decree-Law 69/2024, converted by Law 105/2024), covers structures attached or annexed to the building, with a movable roof and no permanently enclosed space. The tettoia and the veranda follow another path. Municipal rules, safety and seismic rules and the code of cultural heritage and landscape remain in force (in a protected area, landscape authorisation may be needed even for work that is exempt on building grounds) and, in a condominium, the building's rules and the distances from neighbours' windows apply: pergola on a condominium terrace. Conditions, constraints and distances in full are in the guide permits for pergolas in Italy; we check them for you at design stage.

We sell and install both families from all three brands; model names are those declared by the manufacturers.

The Pratic model called Veranda is a sliding fabric cover on guides, without posts, developed to protect verandas and glazing: the name does not change the building status of the work. Ranges and differences are in Gibus pergolas, KE Outdoor Design pergolas and Pratic pergolas; to choose the brand there is the guide Gibus, KE or Pratic, and for price the guide how much does a bioclimatic pergola cost. Gibus's Energy Pergola has integrated photovoltaic panels and is covered in photovoltaic pergolas.

Over an outdoor kitchen an opening cover usually suits best: tilted louvres or gathered fabric help disperse the heat and smoke of a refractory-stone barbecue, while with the cover closed the kitchen stays dry. The choice between the two is made on the drawing: position of barbecue and hood, clear height, water drainage. The pergola is designed in the same project as the outdoor stone kitchen, with a granite, quartzite, sintered-stone or marble worktop, the paving and, if there is one, the swimming pool, and the same team installs it.

We design a kitchen under a pergola as outdoor furniture: stable use with fixed installations, together with closing all sides, can change the assessment, and in that case it is wise to consult the municipal technical office. The solutions are in outdoor kitchen under a pergola.

The choice is made in six steps, from the type of roof to the overall project.

1. Decide what you want from the roof: adjusting light and air with louvres, or opening the sky with fabric.
2. Check the structure: wall, slab and drains must carry posts and loads.
3. Consider wind and sea salt: choose a model with a wind resistance declared by the manufacturer.
4. Decide on the side enclosures: zip screens or glass, keeping the space open at least in part.
5. Check the constraints: municipality, protected area, condominium, distances from neighbours.
6. Design pergola, kitchen and paving together, so that posts and drains do not clash.

From the survey to the 3D design and installation by our own team, the process is described in bespoke pergolas; pergola, kitchen and paving are drawn in one project.

To read more: bioclimatic pergolas, awnings and bespoke covers, bioclimatic pergola: what it is and how it works (louvres, sensors, drainage) and retractable-fabric pergolas.

To find out which structure suits your space, contact Michelessi SRL, Via Pontina km 45.350, Aprilia (Latina); phone and WhatsApp +39 06 9275383. The survey and the quotation are free of charge in Lazio: quotation form.

1. Decide what you want from the roof
   If you want to adjust light and air through the day, the answer is the louvred bioclimatic pergola; if you want a roof that leaves the sky open once gathered, the fabric pergotenda.
2. Check the structure
   Wall, slab and drains must carry posts and loads: we check this when measuring up at the survey.
3. Consider wind and sea salt
   On the coast or in windy positions, choose a model with a wind resistance declared by the manufacturer.
4. Decide on the side enclosures
   Zip screens or sliding glass walls are movable protections; keep the space open at least in part, because a pergola permanently closed on all sides must be checked with the municipality.
5. Check the constraints
   Building regulations, any protected area, the condominium rules and the distances from neighbours' windows: we tell you at design stage, before ordering.
6. Design everything together
   Pergola, outdoor stone kitchen and paving are drawn in the same 3D project, so that posts and drains do not clash.

• Pergolas: the main page
• Tax deductions for awnings and pergolas in Italy 2026: the rules
• Pergola Enclosures: Sliding Glass Walls and Zip Screens
• Outdoor kitchen under a pergola: stone and shade, one design
• Gibus vs KE vs Pratic: how to choose a bioclimatic pergola
• Bioclimatic pergola maintenance: wind, snow and winter
• Bioclimatic pergola: what it is, how it works, how to choose
• Pergola on a condominium terrace in Italy: rules and neighbours
• Wall-mounted or free-standing pergola: how to choose and install
• Pergolas in Anzio and Nettuno: Bioclimatic Pergolas & Awnings
• Bioclimatic pergolas Aprilia, Pomezia, Ardea: sales and fitting
• Pergolas in the Castelli Romani: Bioclimatic, Awnings, Screens
• Photovoltaic pergolas: Gibus Energy Pergola and KE Sunlight
• Bioclimatic pergolas in Frosinone: snow loads and winter use
• Gibus Pergolas in Lazio: Models, Awnings and Installation
• KE Outdoor Design pergolas in Lazio: Kedry, Isola, Gennius Vega
• Bioclimatic Pergolas and Awnings in Latina and Cisterna
• Bioclimatic Pergolas on the Lazio Coast: Terracina to Gaeta
• Bioclimatic Pergolas for Restaurants, Hotels and Beach Clubs
• Pratic Pergolas in Lazio: Opera, Vision, Brera and Awnings
• Bioclimatic Pergolas in Rome: Installation and Stone Kitchens
• Bespoke pergolas: survey, 3D design and installation, Lazio
• Retractable fabric pergolas (pergotende) in Lazio, Italy
• Pergola Permits in Italy 2026: Edilizia Libera and Its Limits
• How much does a bioclimatic pergola cost: what drives the price
• Folding-arm, drop and cassette awnings in Aprilia and Lazio