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The
Architecture of Modern Italy: Volume 2, Visions of Utopia,
1900-present, by Terry Kirk (Volume
1 here).
The second
volume of Terry Kirk's history of architecture in modern
Italy picks up where volume one left off, at the turn of
the 20th century, when architecture was seen as an expression
of the recently unified country. Politics plays a much greater
role in this time frame, especially during Mussolini's reign
between the two World Wars. Like many other European country,
a dramatic break with history is the popular past of the
time, Italy's called Rationalism and embodied by its most
popular proponent, Guiseppe Terragni. While the author doesn't
devote many pages to the architect, his presence is visible
in both his contemporaries and followers. But Kirk stresses
that Terragni was an exception to the overriding tendency
of the time, which was characterized by a pull both forward
and back. In other words, mid-century Italian architects
didn't want to completely obliterate their past, but at
the same time they didn't want to repeat it. While Italy
never recaptured its ancient influence that spread far beyond
its shores -- nor a clear national identity in architectural
form -- its late 20th-century personalities -- such as Aldo
Rossi, Mario Botta, and Renzo Piano -- are indicative of
a cultural climate accepting and nurturing of pluralistic
voices that eventually do spread Italian culture via their
work in other countries.
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