The Architecture of Modern Italy

280 Pages·2005·29.66 MB·English

by  Terry Kirk

The Architecture ofModern Italy
AUSTRIA Italy Today
SWITZERLAND
Mogno Bolzano
Gemona
Trento Udine
Como Possagno Pordenone
San Vito d’Altivole
Trieste
Ivrea Novara Milan Brescia VeronaVicenza Venice
Padua
Turin Pavia Mantua
Alessandria Broni
Piacenza Parma
Ferrara
Modena
Genoa
Vesima Bologna
Rapallo Ravenna
Montecattini
Campo Bisenzio
Torre del Lago
Lastra a Signa Florence
Siena
Corciano ADRIATIC SEA
Assisi
Terni
Rome
Ostia Lido
Latina Cassino
Bari
Naples
Pozzuoli
Salerno Matera
SARDINIA Eboli
Capri
TYRRHENIAN SEA
Palermo Messina Reggio di Calabria
Trapani
Agrigento
The Architecture of Modern Italy
Volume II:Visions of Utopia,1900–Present
Terry Kirk
Princeton Architectural Press
New York
in memory ofgino valle
Published by
Princeton Architectural Press
37 East Seventh Street
New York,New York 10003
For a free catalog of books,call 1.800.722.6657.
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© 2005 Princeton Architectural Press
All rights reserved
Printed and bound in Hong Kong
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission
from the publisher,except in the context of reviews.
Every reasonable attempt has been made to identify owners of copyright.Errors or omissions
will be corrected in subsequent editions.
Project Coordinator:Mark Lamster
Editing:Elizabeth Johnson,Linda Lee,Megan Carey
Layout:Jane Sheinman
Special thanks to:Nettie Aljian,Dorothy Ball,Nicola Bednarek,Janet Behning,Penny (Yuen
Pik) Chu,Russell Fernandez,Clare Jacobson,John King,Nancy Eklund Later,Katharine
Myers,Lauren Nelson,Scott Tennent,Jennifer Thompson,and Joseph Weston of Princeton
Architectural Press —Kevin C.Lippert,publisher
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kirk,Terry.
The architecture of modern Italy / Terry Kirk.
v.cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
Contents:v.1.The challenge of tradition,1750–1900 — v.2.Visions of Utopia,
1900–present.
ISBN 1-56898-438-3 (set :alk.paper) — ISBN 1-56898-420-0 (v.1 :alk.paper) —
ISBN 1-56898-436-7 (v.2 :alk.paper)
1.Architecture—Italy. 2.Architecture,Modern. I.Title.
NA1114.K574 2005
720'.945—dc22
2004006479
Contents
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Chapter 5
Architects ofthe Avant-Garde,1900s–1920s
The International Exhibition of Decorative Arts,
Turin,1902 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Stile Liberty:Pietro Fenoglio,Giuseppe Sommaruga,
Ernesto Basile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Socialized Public Housing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Neo-Eclecticism:Giulio Ulisse Arata,Aldo Andreani,
Gino Coppedè . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Titanic Visions of Industry:Dario Carbone,Gaetano
Moretti,Ulisse Stacchini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Antonio Sant’Elìa:Architectural Visionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Futurism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
FIAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Paris 1925 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Chapter 6
Architecture during the Fascism Regime,1922–1944
The Return of Neoclassicism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Italian Rationalism:Gruppo 7 & Giuseppe Terragni,
MIAR& Adalberto Libera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Marcello Piacentini,the Mostra della Rivoluzione Fascista,
and the University of Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Fascist Party Architecture:Casa del Fascio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95
Mussolini Made the Trains Run on Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102
The Competitions for the Palazzo del Littorio . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Industry,Empire,and Autarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Fascist Urbanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Foro Mussolini and the Fascist Culture of Sport . . . . . . . . . . .128
E42 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133
Fascist Architects and Modern Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137
Chapter 7
Postwar Reconstruction,1944–1968
War Memorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146
Continuity with Prewar Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149
Transforming Stazione Termini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
The Housing Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Neo-Realism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159
Luigi Carlo Daneri and Le Corbusier’s Influence . . . . . . . . . .161
Adriano Olivetti’s Last Efforts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
Two Towers for Milan:Ponti’s Pirelli vs.B.B.P.R.’s Velasca . . . . .166
History’s Challenge to the Modern Movement . . . . . . . . . . .174
Giovanni Michelucci’s Sacred Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
Pier Luigi Nervi’s Engineering Solutions for Architecture . . .190
1960s Urbanism and Megastructures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196
Carlo Scarpa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199
Chapter 8
Italian Architecture for the Next Millennium,1968–2000
After Modernism:Aldo Rossi,Gino Valle,Paolo Portoghesi,
and Mario Botta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208
Between Theory and Practice:Franco Purini,Vittorio
Gregotti,and Manfredi Nicoletti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223
Archeology and Abusivismo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229
Rebuilding La Fenice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233
Architecture in the Service of Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237
Renzo Piano Building Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244
Rome 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258
Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274
acknowledgments
The author would like to thank by name those who supported the
gestation of this project with valuable advice,expertise,and inspiration:
Marcello Barbanera,Eve Sinaiko,Claudia Conforti,John Pinto,
Marco Mulazzani,Fabio Barry,Allan Ceen,Nigel Ryan,Jeffery
Collins,Lars Berggren,Elisabeth Kieven,Diana Murphy,Lucy
9
Maulsby,Catherine Brice,Flavia Marcello,and Andrew Solomon.
Illustrations for these volumes were in many cases provided free of
charge,and the author thanks Maria Grazia Sgrilli,the FIATArchivio
Storico,and the Fondazione Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Roma;the
archives of the following studios:Albini Helg & Piva,Armando
Brasini,Costantino Dardi,Mario Fiorentino,Gino Pollini,Gio Ponti,
and Aldo Rossi;and personally the following architects:Carlo
Aymonino,Lodovico Belgioioso,Mario Botta,Massimiliano Fuksas,
Vittorio Gregotti,Zaha Hadid,Richard Meier,Manfredi Nicoletti,
Renzo Piano,Paolo Portoghesi,Franco Purini,and Gino Valle.
The author would also like to acknowledge the professional
support from the staffs of the Biblioteca Hertziana,the Biblioteca
dell’Istituto Nazionale di Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte,the Biblioteca
Nazionale Centrale Vittorio Emanuele II,and the generous financial
support of The American University of Rome.
introduction
“Modern Italy”may sound like an oxymoron.For Western
civilization,Italian culture represents the classical past and the
continuity of canonical tradition,while modernity is understood in
contrary terms of rupture and rapid innovation.Charting the
10 evolution of a culture renowned for its historical past into the
modern era challenges our understanding of both the resilience of
tradition and the elasticity of modernity.
We have a tendency when imagining Italy to look to a rather
distant and definitely premodern setting.The ancient forum,
medieval cloisters,baroque piazzas,and papal palaces constitute our
ideal itinerary of Italian civilization.The Campo of Siena,Saint
Peter’s,all ofVenice and San Gimignano satisfy us with their
seemingly unbroken panoramas onto historical moments untouched
by time;but elsewhere modern intrusions alter and obstruct the view
to the landscapes of our expectations.As seasonal tourist or seasoned
historian,we edit the encroachments time and change have wrought
on our image of Italy.The learning of history is always a complex
task,one that in the Italian environment is complicated by the
changes wrought everywhere over the past 250 years.Culture on the
peninsula continues to evolve with characteristic vibrancy.
Italy is not a museum.To think of it as such—as a disorganized
yet phenomenally rich museum unchanging in its exhibits—is to
misunderstand the nature of the Italian cultural condition and the
writing of history itself.To edit Italy is to overlook the dynamic
relationship of tradition and innovation that has always characterized
its genius.It has never been easy for architects to operate in an
atmosphere conditioned by the weight of history while responding
to modern progress and change.Their best works describe a deft
compromise between Italy’s roles as Europe’s oldest culture and one
of its newer nation states.Architects of varying convictions in this
context have striven for a balance,and a vibrant pluralistic
architectural culture is the result.There is a surprisingly transparent
top layer on the palimpsest of Italy’s cultural history.This book
explores the significance of the architecture and urbanism of Italy’s
latest,modern layer.