The Architecture of Modern Italy AUSTRIA SWITZERLAND Italy Today Mogno Bolzano Gemona Udine Trento Como Possagno Pordenone San Vito d’Altivole Ivrea Brescia Vicenza Trieste Novara Milan Verona Venice Padua Tur in Pavia Mantua Alessandria Broni Piacenza Parma Ferrara Modena Vesima Genoa Bologna Rapallo Ravenna

Montecattini Campo Bisenzio Torre del Lago Lastra a Signa Florence

Siena Corciano ADRIATIC SEA Assisi

Te r n i

Rome Ostia Lido

Latina Cassino Bari

Pozzuoli Naples Salerno Matera SARDINIA Eboli Capri

TYRRHENIAN SEA

Messina Palermo 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 of gino valle

Published by Princeton Architectural Press 37 East Seventh Street New York,New York 10003

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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 of the 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 FIAT Archivio 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.