794 SEEKING THE CITY

Politics, Architecture and the Migration of Meaning: The Sanatorium Village at , , for the Treatment of Tuberculosis (1930—1940)

JOHN SANDELL Florida Atlantic University

INTRODUCTION THE PROJECT

In 1931 the Fascist Regime governing Italy under At Sondalo the regime intended to build a com- Benito Mussolini authorized the design and con- plex that would rival in grandiosity all of Europe’s struction of Europe’s largest sanatorium for the hospitals and could compete with the sanitary treatment of tuberculosis. Under the fascist re- quality of the sanatoriums in nearby Davos, Swit- gime, a public building program served fi ve needs zerland . 2 Sondalo and its province were already in particular: education, sport and leisure, worship, the home of several small private clinics built in government, and health. Similar to the others, the an architecture style reminiscent of mountain lo- health program asserted the production of highly calities where traditional building methods, using visible images and identifi ed the regime as the vi- wood, stone and mortar promulgated an alpine tal organ to the Italians’ well-being.1 The Nation- vernacular blended with “Stile Liberty.”3 In 1930 al Fascist Institute for Social Welfare (I.N.F.P.S.) Raffaello Mattiangeli, an engineer for the technical named Sondalo, a small mountain locality in the offi ce of the National Agency of Social Insurance province of , as the site for the complex. In in Rome, headed the project of Sondalo.4 Mat- this paper, I consider three attributes of the Sana- tiangeli interpreted the project as a progressive, torium complex: (1) the project’s scale in relation rationalist armature that incorporated academic to its position in an alpine valley and its impact monumentalism and metaphoric classicism asso- on the local population, (2) the Sanatorium’s in- ciated respectively with Marcello Piancentini and terior social engineering aimed at production and Giovanni Muzio.5 control, and (3) the dialectic among architectural features that in one respect, characterize the pe- Technologically advanced, the project included riod’s national architectural debate and in another, autonomous water, waste and power stations, refl ect and subvert state hegemony. and provided living for employees, clergy, and patients supported by social and recreational ac- I argue that while the site’s complexity and so- tivities. The result was one of the most colossal cial organization sustain state hegemony when construction projects during fascist rule and one viewed from afar, within the village, the embed- of the most modern clinical hospitals in Europe.6 ment of scalar elements and familiar architectural The most striking feature was the territory’s rede- features take on an interstitial role displacing the sign in a serpentine pattern, terracing roadways mechanics that power the monumental scale of a forming a dogleg up the steep mountainside hov- project, dominant technology, structure and social ering above the town of Sondalo and dominat- organization. These local attributes embrace the ing the valley. The construction lasted from 1932 temporal, instead of the just now, as a passage of to 1940, realized over 600,000 cubic meters of events across the variegated space of movements building volume over a surface area of 450,000 within the village and account for the interaction square meters and employed over 1,400 workers. among socio-cultural, political, and architectural The construction provided work for local workers domains of experience. in excavation, carpentry, ironwork, stone and ma- POLITICS, ARCHITECTURE AND THE MIGRATION OF MEANING 795

The infrastructure and its construction, ca. 1933. sonry and imported the workers for specialized ORGANIZATION AND SOCIAL ENGINEERING components—tunnels, dams, hydraulics and me- chanics. Production and control shaped the conceptual and functional design of the sanatorium. The plan The project also initiated a change in the local links the entry concierge at the base of the Vil- economy of time from one based on agrarian pro- lage to nine pavilions, and culminates at the ad- duction correlating with seasonal rhythms to one ministration building, power station, church and of industrial production and mechanical rhythms. mortuary that cluster around a grand piazza. The The latter became a new measure of activity that formation of the triad around the piazza is a visual once taken for granted, felt natural. The change in reminder of Italian fascism’s pursuit of socio-eco- the economy of time accounts for a reifi cation of nomic independence and preservation of spiritual the project’s conception—a modern laboratory on tradition. Architectural historian Diane Ghirardo the side of a mountain. points out that for the regime, “mass civic events became a fascist trope, a means of forging a new, The visual impact stressed several architectural post-democratic collectivity and of inscribing the objectives: the celebration of science through public character of the new political formation”. 7 rationalism, the symbolic representation of col- lective consciousness, and a dependency on the Social hierarchy ordered the allocation of all struc- state for social welfare. tures and their functions within the sanatorium. 796 SEEKING THE CITY

Shaped like an axe in plan, (a symbol of the fas- three levels. The well facilitated the use of the cist party), and perched at the top of the village, deep interior spaces, primarily in the kitchen and the austere and robust administration building dining areas. Originally, laboratories, pharmacy served the political enterprise of fascist ideology and sleeping quarters for doctors, staff and nuns as the spiritual and productive hub. Its proximity fi lled out the remainder of functions in the axe’s to the grand ceremonial piazza terraced on two handle with the top fl oor, reserved for administra- levels accentuated its dominance within the vil- tive offi ces. These organizational motifs illustrate lage’s body. Each pavilion operated autonomously the building’s most important function—the daily and was equipped with dormitories for patients reception and distribution of all alimentary, sani- and nurses, hygienic services, offi ces, medical tary and medical supplies for the entire village. rooms, commons area, refectory and chapel. On the inside, identical, linear and regimented orga- A cable car system connected the administration nizational patterns emphasized operational effi - to all nine pavilions and choreographed those ciency and hygiene. Each pavilion relied on the daily routines into a mechanized spectacle. At administration building’s allocation of goods. the onset of the sanatorium’s life, all meals were cooked in the kitchens of the administration build- The administration building housed kitchens, the ing and distributed via cable from the roof deck of warehouse and laundry in the axe’s blade. With- the building. After a few years, the central distri- in the volume, a light well penetrates the upper bution for meals was abandoned as meals arrived

The Sanatorium Village nearing completion, ca 1939. POLITICS, ARCHITECTURE AND THE MIGRATION OF MEANING 797

The Sanatorium Village plan. cold from the administration to the other pavilions artistic, cultural and social activities including and had to be reheated due to the time needed for cinema, library, games, social assistance to the their transport and complicated by the cold win- families, and the traditional religious worship. The ter climate. The system continued to be used for sanatorium opened to the local population occa- the distribution of medical goods, food supplies sions for offi cial State and religious festivals and and the change and cleaning of linens. Dirty linens community social events. All of these activities where transferred to the service building by truck, augmented a sense of camaraderie and friendship and the clean linens were sent back on the cable among the townspeople, staff, and the sick. The cars. 8 Although the system partially failed, the close habitation of doctors and paramedics relo- visual tie between the administration and each cated to the complex from outside the province pavilion highlights the symbolic value of the syn- with patients and local nurses and technicians re- chronization of the movement of goods through inforced these relationships, creating a social fab- the sky with hierarchical dominance over all activ- ric—a communal modernization departing from ity. The building remained central to all functions that of a nuclear family. and policy for the Village. The Sanatorium became a working, productive symbol of the fascist sys- The residents of Sondalo, even today, remember tem–self-suffi cient and effi cient. with pride their relatives who contributed to the project’s construction. The memories also refer to The Sanatorium also served rhetorical objectives: the local nurses, technicians, and cooks who con- To convince the local populace of a revolutionary tributed to patient care and the hospital’s daily op- program and motivate mass participation in fas- erations and maintenance during the late 1930’s cist policy. and the post-war period. 9

For local residents, many of whom worked on the For the regime, the concept of a new “man” was a construction, the sanatorium represented a tech- fascist solution to the problem of the individual’s nological monument whose primary mission was place in the state and society. And through the research for the cure of its patients. This mission building of the Sanatorium, fascist’ policy came to complemented an internal life that contributed a the defense of the race and the local community diverse context for social interaction to the towns- offering jobs and a future sanitary service fur- people. The village introduced technical training, thering an idea of progress. Mattiangeli affi rmed 798 SEEKING THE CITY

a venturesome experiment for urban and social was a Bolshevik product and therefore contrary structures of that time. He proposed a rationalist to the regime.11 The above examples illustrate architecture promoting progressive values through the complexity among architectural positions and the Village’s grandiosity, technical innovations, politics. The fascist regime never committed to an and social structure. Mattiangeli’s project, how- architectural style. Instead, the regime identifi ed ever, is also exemplary of the architectural debate building as a vehicle for the pragmatic application of his time. of policy, thereby granting architecture a privi- leged position among state institutions. In the ITALY’S ARCHITECTURAL DEBATE case of the sanatorium, Mattiangeli favored spa- tial movements using scalar variation across the The regime in Italy inherited a cultural model based site and a multitude of styles stemming from the on liberal democratic principles diverse in make politics of form. up and diffi cult to dismantle. Entrenched state bureaucracies and eclectic tendencies in literature SITE AND ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES and the arts made for a set of messy social and cultural circumstances that had repercussions in Seen from the outside, the village’s large pavilions architecture. The ongoing fascist political debate sprout between terraced roads, cable systems and contributing to the formation of fascist ideology bridges carving up the mountainside and recon- fueled an architectural debate from an array of ar- fi guring the landscape into an image of social and chitectural infl uences. The infl uences ranged from spatial control. Its prominence and status mar- Roman, classical, and Mediterranean vocabularies ginalize the town of Sondalo at its foot and is felt affi rming folklore to progressive avant-garde ex- throughout the valley. perimentation. However, from the inside, scale and form vary, and Leading scholars of the period debated architec- materiality experienced. Upon arrival to the vil- tural form and values. For example, Muzio argued lage, a small concierge building and director’s villa for an architecture stemming from a principle of act as a prelude before passing through a tunnel order, following the faith of a neo-classical tradi- leading to the working domain of the village. The tion. Some advocated Mussolini’s agenda with ra- passage also signals a change in organization and tionalist design principles. Bini in his letter to the volumetric scales. The terraced roadway follows Duce, in 1928, (and in conjunction with the fi rst stone-faced retaining walls, some with arched Italian Exhibition of Rationalist Architecture, MIAR, niches that thread their way between the pavil- in Rome) on behalf of the newly formed Union of ions growing in height and receding at the hairpin National Fascists Architects, begins to crystallize turns. A garden, pergola or kiosk, each unique a concept of nationalist architecture, reinforcing in their design, demarcate a transition at each the Duce’s famous phrase, “architettura, arte di turn–a new moment in the ascension through the Stato.” In his letter, the members declare their village. These changes in scale and organization trust to the service of the fascist’ State and mod- imply shifts in spatial and temporal forms and cul- ern architecture as equal to fascist architecture. tural values augmenting difference about, rather Marcello Piancentini, well aware of the national than convergence towards authority. and international scene, advanced his position in Roman politics through the periodical Architettura The insertion and articulation of scalar elements e Arti Decorative, otherwise known as the offi cial extends into the architecture. Mattiangeli incor- written organ for the Union of National Fascists porated references to the academic tradition from Architects.10 Piancentini became an unoffi cial volumetric massing to details recalling Piancenti- spokesman for the central government in Rome. ni’s stark Mediterraneanism, the spirit of Muzio’s He both promoted rational architecture and con- analogical return to classicism, and the local tra- tested the Gruppo 7’s rationalist interpretation dition of building. These references contribute to as lacking historical roots in Italy and respond- the symbolic value of the architecture uncover- ing poorly to local climatic conditions. In contrast, ing an interior perspective of patterns and move- Farinacci, who was the editor of Il Regime Fas- ments from the monolithic to the petit among di- cista, argued that the state’s brand of rationalism verse architectural features that highlight episodic POLITICS, ARCHITECTURE AND THE MIGRATION OF MEANING 799

thresholds among buildings and outside spaces. The surgical pavilion, beyond the concierge, re- The differences in articulation and the use of ma- sembles an elongated, sleek ship with cylindri- terials indicate Mattiangeli’s use of different struc- cal ends, articulated by perimeter walkways and tural idioms. balustrades at the fourth and fi fth fl oors and the roof terrace. Bipartite in division, the volume is For example, the cylindrical concierge building fi nished in plaster on the upper facade and honed incorporates a tripartite division recurrent in the serpentino stone at the base fl oors. Sleeping ter- pavilions. Typically, the division is expressed with races penetrate into the volume around the pe- bush-hammered stone bases set in a random pat- rimeter of the fourth, fi fth, and sixth levels along tern with the ground level fi nished in rustic stucco the south façade further differentiating structural and the fi rst level in fi ner stucco. Entry doors at order from material detail. The building affi rms the ground level are framed with a simple rectan- a northern brand of Italian rationalism and incor- gular section in stone. Fenestrations are treated porates the classically rooted colonnaded atrium on equal intervals at each level. The second level reminiscent of Piancentini’s academic spirit and steps back from the wall plane of the fi rst creat- Mediterranean surrealism. ing a roof deck around the buildings perimeter. Its parapet is fi nished with a simple stone curb For the eight remaining pavilions, vertical fenes- that doubles as both a cornice and as a sill in el- trations ordered symmetrically about the stone- evation for the fenestrations beyond. The stripped faced base dominate the lower third of each vol- down classicism culminates at a small roof pavil- ume and refer to a classically rooted language. In ion adorned by a glass aedicule supported by six contrast, alternating protrusions and extrusions cylindrical columns.12 about the circumference of the volume are ar-

The Surgical Pavilion. 800 SEEKING THE CITY

ticulated by receding sun decks interlocked be- circumference of the blade rendering the volume’s tween cantilevered balconies at the upper levels. internal operations obscure. The blade of the Horizontal fenestrations turn at the northeast and building marginalizes the exterior surroundings, northwest corners of each fl oor. The eaves and increasing a sense of omnipotence. In contrast, the windowsills are aligned at upper and lower concrete bands circumscribe the blade’s handle at levels and linear, unadorned cornices square off each fl oor level harnessing Roman brick infi ll cel- each corner. The division at each fl oor is scalar. ebrating Italy’s imperial past. Narrow, cantilevered cornices that recall a hori- zontal tripartite division along the circumference CONCLUSIONS of the building become subtler with each change in level. This feature contrasts with the marked, Mattiangeli creates a trail of features challeng- classically derived cornices about which the lower ing values layered within a rational armature. He levels are delineated. The upper most level is the demonstrates that the Sanatorium is not a com- roof terrace for the reception of food, medicine plex devoted uniquely to the celebration of the and laundry. The triangular hip roof on the roof empire. It underscores the architectural polemics pavilion mimics a pendant, accented by a pro- of the State in the early 1930s that represented nounced cornice at each end. This feature could dominant discourses. While the structure privi- be read as part of a folly. The cornice sandwiches leges modern characteristics based on an adhe- the glass façade positing a contradictory ratio- sion to the evolution of technology, what emerges nale. Although more sober, it simulates Giovanni is technology’s unifi cation with symbolism. This Muzio’s metaphoric classicism, the allusions that second aspect is best refl ected in the laborious allowed him to be modern without expatriating. task of making this giant: the memory of an en- gineering feat resolved by human hands’ excava- The architectural details recall trade skills–wood tion and positing of scalar artifacts onto retaining window frames and shading devices, variegated walls, gardens, and facades and the enunciation of stone facing from bush-hammered to polished reoccurring moments and sequential events with and ironworks in the form of balustrades and the insertion of a garden, kiosk or pergola. These shutter tracks. The two lowest levels, faced in features culminate in an audacious and surreally bush-hammered serpentino stone, use a common haunting administration, church, and mortuary. bond with larger, taller blocks towards the bot- The events created by the architectural and site tom coursings and smaller and lower blocks at the features wield indifference to political ideology upper coursings. The random bonding testifi es to and social function. Instead, they assert values the freedom and know-how of local stonemasons. refl ected in the form of physical things and not Sills are all honed stone rectangular in section. abstract ideologies. Stone cornices cap the stucco facades. Together with the opposing volumetric divisions, the forms and materials perpetuate visual metaphors that struggle to distance themselves from any form of social dominance or reference to state hegemony. Once recognized, they bring into one’s purview a dialogue between different experiences; its dura- tion explores the measure of continuity and signif- icance. The buildings and their features seek con- sensus among their diverse forms of expression utilizing balanced proportions and similar scales of mass, fenestration and detail.

The reading of scalar elements ends abruptly with a return to the austere geometrical patterns of the administrative building. Large scaled niches excavated out of the building’s stucco mass and window walls in translucent glass wrap around the The Administration Building POLITICS, ARCHITECTURE AND THE MIGRATION OF MEANING 801

Every hairpin turn leads to a digression from the was realized in Sondalo, on Mount Sortenna, at the classical and the Mediterranean styles and remains limits of the pine forest. It was structured on six fl oors and contained 130 rooms. In 1932, 150 beds were anchored in the Italian rationalism of the period. added in a new wing in order to accommodate relatives However, the juxtaposition of diverse styles, of of patients. Rossattini, Stefano, Un Villaggio Straordi- small-scale structures and the positing of arti- nario, Litostampa Istituto Grafi co, 2002, ch. 3. facts recalling artisan trades challenge the pure 4. Mattiangeli received medical and scientifi c consulta- syntax of closely organized and controlled system tion throughout the project from Dr. Eugenio Morelli. of values. The digressive aspect brings into the Morelli was National Secretary for the Union of Fascist forefront the confl ict within ideology, or any form Physicians from 1930 to 1938. Rossattini, Stefano, Un Villaggio Straordinario, Litostampa Istituto Grafi co, of authoritarian image making. Authority can be 2002, p. 68. challenged by the same technology that it reveres 5. Raffaello Mattiangeli graduated from the Faculty when human reason and frailty guide technologi- of Engineering in Rome in 1925. In 1930, after a few cal innovation. years in a private offi ce, he went to work for the Na- tional Fascist Institute for Social Welfare. What emerges is the dialectic of a Sanatorium’s 6. Cereghini, Mario, Costruire in montagna, Il Milione, eclectic technological features and authoritarian 1956. management, which shows fascist vulnerability in 7. Ghiardo, Diane Yvonne, Citta Fascista: Surveillance hyperbole. Whether intended or not, the Sanato- and Spectacle, in Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. rium provides a multifaceted image of the fascist 31, No. 2, Special Issue: The Aesthetics of Fascism. state that purported a past and present pride for April, 1996, pp. 347-372. Italy and a “culture of consent” fostering a public 8. Due to the exuberant cost of maintaining the sys- policy of discipline and obedience.13 The Sanato- tem, the cables were removed in 1965 with the towers rium attests to the memory of social participation left as a visual testimony to an important element of the architecture. in the construction and daily activities of the com- plex. These memories displace the organizational 9. In November 2002, sociologist Ivan Fassin realized a series of local interviews focusing on socio-cultural apparatus and policy, highlighting an opposition issues during and after the construction of the Sanato- between abstract ideological asceticism and the rium Village. See also: Rossattini, Stefano, Un Villag- people’s values of local artistry and craftsman- gio Straordinario, Litostampa Istituto Grafi co, 2002, pp. ship. 169-174. 10. Muratore, Giorgio, Storia dell’architettura italiana, il primo novecento, edited by Ciucci, Giorgio and Mura- ENDNOTES tore, Giorgio, Electa, Milano, 2004, pp. 78-79. 11. The polemics initiated by Farinacci demonstrate 1. Millions of Italians suffered from scarce hygienic more than anything that the regime had not decided on conditions and overcrowding of housing, both aggra- an architectural image representing the State. Schol- vating the diffusion of tuberculosis. ars like Farinacci most often aimed their comments at individuals, critiquing their style of architecture as 2. Switzerland boasted numerous institutions, inclu- a means of questioning their loyalty to the regime. ding over 100 clinics in the Canton Grigione by 1940. Bona, Andrea, Storia dell’architettura italiana, il primo The most famous sanatorium was located in Davos, a novecento, edited by Ciucci, Giorgio and Muratore, locality at an altitude of 1,560 m above sea level. Da- Giorgio, Electa, Milano, 2004, pp. 156. vos, became one of the principle centers in Europe for the treatment of the disease. Both Davos and Sondalo 12. Directly above the concierge is the director’s villa. are characterized by a dry and ventilated climate with The villa’s geometry is a rectangular “L” plan on two ample southern exposure. fl oors featuring rooms that extend from the foyer and connect to one another by interior doors. The vertical 3. Built in 1903, the fi rst center in Italy specifi cally fenestrations have a simple profi le typical of classi- for the treatment of tuberculosis was the Pineta di cal Italian architecture. Its exterior loggia is the most Sortenna, a luxurious private institution work of Anto- striking element, defi ned by a quarter round colonnade nio Zubiani located in the pine forests above Sondalo. with four steps above the ground plane linking the two Constructed from the project of Giuseppe Ramponi, wings of the “L”. the building was in Liberty Style with 63 beds divided among three sections. The house of the royal family 13. The term was coined by historian Victoria de Gra- Savoia had a case of TBC for which they helped fund zia. See de Grazia, Victoria, The Culture of Consent, the building of the Pineta in 1900. The fi rst public Mass Organization of Leisure in Fascist Italy, New York, sanatorium, Umberto I was inaugurated in 1910 in Cambridge University Press, 1981. the locality of Prasomaso, community of near Sondalo. In 1927, a second private clinic, the Abetina