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La Conoscenza Storica E L'interpretazione Critica

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La Conoscenza Storica E L'interpretazione Critica Antonio Pugliano LA CONOSCENZA STORICA E L’INTERPRETAZIONE CRITICA DELLE FABBRICHE BORROMINIANE PER LA VALORIZZAZIONE DELLA ROMA DEL SEICENTO Antonio Pugliano, Università Roma Tre, Dipartimento di Architettura (DArc) Introduzione Contribuire alla conoscenza dell’architettura barocca andalusa attraverso lo studio del rapporto tra il Barocco romano e la cultura architettonica spagnola, è un tema di sicuro interesse e merita di essere approfondito da quanti siano profondi conoscitori di quest’ultima; al lavoro di costoro si è scelto di contribuire facendo cenno ad alcuni aspetti dell’attività di Fancesco Borromini (Francesco Castelli, Bissone 1599 Roma 1667) attinenti alla sua produzione nella Roma del Seicento e che possono costituire un termine di relazione con il contesto andaluso. Restiamo quindi a Roma osservando tuttavia che i suoi primi committenti furono i Trinitari scalzi spagnoli del convento di San Carlo sulla Strada Pia. E’utile premettere che non si ha notizia di alcun viaggio svolto da Francesco Borromini in Spagna, tuttavia la critica ha da tempo proposto alcune analogie tipologiche tra gli elementi della composizione borrominiana e le componenti tipiche dell’architettura iberica. Si guardi per questo alla facciata di San Carlino, la quale è distinta dal contesto retrostante per l’uso del materiale, per la geometria curvilinea, per la presenza del tabernacolo/reliquiario e, persino, per l’autonomia di giacitura, essendo solo aderente alla parete cui si relaziona e questi caratteri la pongono in analogia agli altari retablos della tradizione spagnola11. Ma c’è di più: chi scrive osserva l’interesse che potrebbe avere lo studio comparato degli aspetti compositivi e costruttivi, reali o allusi, palesi o nascosti, che accomunano le coperture murarie dell’architettura borrominiana romana e le cupole della tradizione medioevale araba andalusa, entrambe segnate da profonde nervature. Non c’è chi non veda, infatti, quanto il tema dell’evidenza della composizione gerarchica della struttura negli elementi voltati sia ben documentato nella Cattedrale Moschea di Cordoba, con numerosi esempi che si pongono in analogia assoluta, costituendone quasi un’anticipazione, alle coperture piemontesi di Guarino Guarini (Modena 1624, Milano 1683) il più vicino al maestro tra i prosecutori dell’estetica borrominiana (fig.1). 1 CANINO, Elena. “Il rapporto tra Borromini e la tradizione. Intervento alla Seconda Tavola Rotonda”, De Angelis D’Ossat G., (moderatore) in: Accademia Nazionale di San Luca. Atti del Convegno di Studi sul Borromini.Volume secondo, De Luca, Roma, MCMLXVII, pags. 63-65. 195 La connoscenza storica e l´interpretazione critica delle fabriche… Fig. 1. Cupole ad archi intrecciati. Notevoli e non banali le analogie tra le strutture cordobesi e l’esempio torinese. A sinistra la cupola centrale dello spazio della maqsura dinanzi al mihrab nella Moschea d Cordoba, introdotta nel X secolo (962-966) con gli ampliamenti del califfo al Hakam II (915-976). A destra la cupola della Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Torino (1670-1679) opera di Guarino Guarini. La composizione della cupola guariniana è sintetica dei caratteri peculiari al linguaggio costruttivo espresso dall’erudito califfo al Hakam II nella moschea di Cordoba, ponendosi in forte analogia anche con la più essenziale cupola della Capilla de Villaviciosa. Foto di Pugliano A. Le coperture murarie indicate, tanto le cordobesi quanto le torinesi, possono considerarsi espressioni diacroniche di una comune e approfondita concezione razionale dell’architettura, da esprimere con il linguaggio palese della geometria e della matematica. Entrambi i tipi architettonici assumono come riferimento la più evoluta pratica costruttiva antica, si guardi per questo alla técnica greca e romana della muratura di coperture alleggerite, cosiddette “a intercapedine” realizzate attraverso nervature, in genere celate da paramenti2. Nel caso delle opere del Guarini si può ritenere che esse siano anche il prodotto di un processo di condivisione culturale nato dalla conoscenza e dall’apprezzamento dell’architettura andalusa tradizionale visitata negli anni tra il 1655 e il 1666 in occasione dei numerosi viaggi svolti in Europa: fu a Praga, a Lisbona e, plausibilmente, in Spagna. In generale, la penetrazione del borrominismo nel medesimo territorio sin dai primi anni del XVIII secolo, qui come altrove, è imputabile alla diffusione delle 2 VITTI, Paolo. “Argo. La copertura ad intercapedine della grande aula: osservazioni sul sistema costruttivo della volta”, in: Annuario della Scuola Archeologica Italiana di Atene, LXXXVI, serie III, 8, ASA, Roma, 2008, pags. 215-251. 196 Antonio Pugliano versioni a stampa dell’Opus Architectonicum Equitis Francisci Borromini (1720-1723), pubblicato per i tipi di Sebastiano Giannini, con una dedica al Marchese di Castel Rodriguez e soprattutto, alla connessa presenza in terra di Spagna della Congregazione dell’Oratorio di Filippo Neri portatrice di un importante e duraturo contributo alla cultura artistica, musicale, architettonica: lo stesso Antoni Gaudì fu confratello dell’Oratorio secolare di Barcellona. In questo scenario si colloca l’operato di illustri epigoni del Borromini, di poco successivi al caposcuola, tra i quali ricordiamo padre Andrea Pozzo, (Trento 1642, Vienna 1709) noto per la sua influenza nel contesto iberico, maturata ben prima della sua attività nei paesi tedeschi3. Il senso delle osservazioni sull’operato di Francesco Borromini Aggiungere nuove osservazioni alla narrazione dell’operato e dell’esistenza di Francesco Borromini non è agevole: l’estesissima bibliografía che lo riguarda documenta la consistenza di numerosi e autorevoli studi storici a matrice documentaria che ci hanno restituito un prezioso repertorio di informazioni. Dal repertorio di informazioni documentarie riguardanti l’attività romana di Francesco Borromini possono originarsi interpretazioni particolari della complessa figura dell’architetto ticinese, tali di sollecitare l’interesse degli architetti attuali. Una interpretazione particolarmente interessante da delineare con sempre maggiore approfondimento, a parere di chi scrive, riguarda l’attività svolta nel campo del restauro e, quindi, del singolare rapporto intellettuale che egli ebbe in animo di sostenere con la cultura e gli artefatti del passato. Questo tema comporta l’approfondimento del legame di Francesco Borromini con la sua città di adozione e con la cultura urbana ed edilizia delle quali essa stava divenendo espressione. Si tratta di un tema complesso e affatto residuale: attualmente la necessità elementare di conservare le architetture, si affianca all’imperativo di operarne la valorizzazione o, per meglio dire, la conservazione sostenibile. A tal fine si tratta di strutturare sistemi di informazioni estesi e articolati, all’interno dei quali collocare le opere del passato per consentirne una narrazione efficace ai fini della fruizione, una volta che esse siano state comprese, interpretate e rese eloquenti dei loro valori e significati. Filo conduttore di siffatte narrazioni, auspicabili per il loro carattere inclusivo e identitario, non può che essere l’evolvere delle relazioni stabilite dalle successive contemporaneità con le culture precedenti dimostrate dalle loro espressioni materiali eloquenti e persino emblematiche, tanto dei modi di costruzione della città, quanto della definizione concettuale delle architetture che la compongono. La costruzione della città, tra Cinquecento e Seicento, espresse un carattere di innovazione: il rapporto con l’antico che era precedentemente regolato da processi antropologici, si muta in un rapporto governato dalla 3 FUENTES LÁZARO, Sara. “L’uso del linguaggio pozzesco nel primo Settecento spagnolo: la terza via dell’architettura barocca”, in: Atti del Convegno Internazionale di Studi su Andrea e Giuseppe Pozzo Venezia, Fondazione Giorgio Cini 22-23 novembre 2010. Marcianum Press, Venezia, 2012, pags. 2-20. 197 La connoscenza storica e l´interpretazione critica delle fabriche… intenzionalità e dalla critica che esercita il recupero selettivo e la rielaborazione originale degli elementi caratteristici degli artefatti del passato, ripensandone tanto i principi compositivi quanto le scelte tecniche. Quindi: all’interesse conoscitivo utilitaristico, alla prossimità culturale, si sostituisce di fatto la distanza storica, intesa come la premessa necessaria all’interpretazione della cultura del passato e alla sua attualizzazione da svolgere attraverso il riconoscimento di elementi e concetti da assumere e trasferire al futuro. L’opera del Borromini è emblematica di questo programma culturale. Per la produzione del nuovo, infatti, egli espresse la ricerca di una libera e creativa rielaborazione del linguaggio rinascimentale mentre, nella prassi di intervento contemporáneo nel contesto preesistente, dimostrò la propensione a rivitalizzare il metodo progettuale della concinnitas, ponendo in essere le premesse per l’esercizio della filologia nella conservazione e riuso delle opere del passato. Proprio questo aspetto rende, oggi, la figura del Borromini centrale per una storia dell’architettura che sia inclusiva e, pertanto, incline a non distinguersi dalla storia del restauro; a tal fine è necessario coltivare la propensione allo studio di argomenti attinenti a una storiografia forse minore, come può essere la storia materiale, riguardanti i processi produttivi delle architetture, dalla loro concezione alla realizzazione. Si tratta di indagare la metodologia progettuale e i modi di esecuzione,
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