in «Arte Lombarda», n.s., 195-196, 2022/2-3, pp. 173-179, 2022
In the inventory of the assets of the suppressed convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Mantua, d... more In the inventory of the assets of the suppressed convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Mantua, drawn up on 1 June 1782, the structure of the monastery and the adjoining church, recently rebuilt and dedicated to Santa Teresa, is precisely described. The entire convent, after its sale at auction, underwent profound transformations that led to its disappearance. The identification of a project intended for the mothers of Santa Teresa among the architectural studios of Count Ottavio Scotti of Treviso (1683-1748), never sufficiently investigated, now throws new light on the unclear and poorly documented events of a building and a community of nuns too soon forgotten in the religious and architectural history of the city of Mantua.
in "Vittone 250. L’atelier dell’architetto", a cura di R. Caterino, F. Favaro, E. Piccoli, «ArcHistoR EXTRA», 8, 2021 (supplemento di «ArcHistoR», 15, 2021), pp. 40-101., 2021
The personal experience of the difficulties encountered by any novice architect convinced Vittone... more The personal experience of the difficulties encountered by any novice architect convinced Vittone of the importance of providing good examples for his own students and readers. For this purpose, the most substantial section of the Istruzioni diverse (Lugano 1766) was conceived as «a mass of ideas of buildings, both sacred and profane, and of several ornaments pertaining to them» (Book II, Section II), for the profit of beginners. Our paper traces the structure of this part of the book through the analysis of the texts, and of the dozens of engravings that form the repertoire of models. The aim is to clarify the logic and mechanisms of Vittone’s selection and manipulation of both his own projects and those of other authors. What emerges, is not just a legacy of architectural forms belonging to a consolidated tradition: there is also a continuity in the architectural teaching method, which Vittone had acquired from Juvarra in Turin, firstly, and which consisted in combining the study of drawing to the practical training on the building site.
in "1981/2021 Giardini storici. Esperienze, ricerca, prospettive, a 40 anni dalle Carte di Firenze", a cura di S. Caccia Gherardini, M.A. Giusti, C. Santini, 2 voll., Firenze University Press, Firenze 2021, I, p. 58-63, 2021
The diplomatic correspondence between ambassadors, envoys, ministers and agents, preserved in the... more The diplomatic correspondence between ambassadors, envoys, ministers and agents, preserved in the Turin State Archives, focuses on the close relations between the French architects and the Savoy court, making up for the laconic nature of payments and the budgets of other archival series. Figures, exchanges, projects, artifacts, plants, bulbs and the dynamics underlying the spread of the French model in Piedmont gardens emerge from the broad spectrum of themes. If the letters help to better define the role of Le Notre and his collaborator De Marne, the judgment on Jules Hardouin-Mansart's ability to "meddle" both in architecture and in the design of gardens is relevant, heralding a major theme in the debate on professional skills and on he need - or not - of a single designer in composing residence and landscape. This network of epistolary communications helps to shed light on the mechanism of French revision of the projects developed at the Turin court, and more generally on the ways in which the role of reference - desired and sought after - of the French architectural culture.
J.W.P. Campbell (Eds), Proceedings of the sixth conference on the Construction History Society CHS, Water, Doors and Buildings. Studies in the History of Construction, Queen’s College, Cambridge, 2019
Water is at the same time an ally and insidious enemy of military architecture. When the city of ... more Water is at the same time an ally and insidious enemy of military architecture. When the city of Alessandria was chosen, around 1725, to become one of the main fortresses in the Kingdom of Sardinia, complex problems had to be faced for the construction of a new citadel on weak and flood prone soils. A pile foundation system was recognized as unavoidable, and since the very first constructional operations, a process began aimed at improving the ancient techniques in order to standardize procedures and to control costs...
in «Saggi e Memorie di Storia dell’Arte», 43, 2019, 2021
The Biblioteca comunale di Borgo Cavour in Treviso safeguards a rich documentary heritage, parts ... more The Biblioteca comunale di Borgo Cavour in Treviso safeguards a rich documentary heritage, parts of which have yet to be explored. This is the case of a portfolio of miscellaneous architectural drawings, the study of which has made it possible to determine more or less exact timescales, and to identify subjects and contexts, with proposed attributions and identifications that are open to critical appraisal. Significant fragments emerge of more or less well-known events in the architecture of the Venetian area, from the end of the sixteenth century to the early twentieth century, with the greatest point of interest undoubtedly lying in the nineteenth-century urban history of Venice.
Among the drawings of the Piedmontese architect Bernardo A. Vittone (1704-1770) now at the Musée ... more Among the drawings of the Piedmontese architect Bernardo A. Vittone (1704-1770) now at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris there are two studies for the modernization of the oratory of the Compagnia di San Paolo in Turin dating back to the early 1740s. This identification, resulting from a comparison with another drawing at Casale Monferrato and the documentary sources, not only adds further evidence of the prolific activity of an absolute protagonist of architectural scene of the period, but also gives back a credible image, in form and size, of an otherwise unknown place (dismantled at the end of the nineteenth century), where the eighteenth-century arrangement of the prestigious pictorial cycle dictated by Tesauro can be imagined.
in "Valorizzazione, transizione, trasformazione. Scritti e progetti per Sewing a small town, 2017", a cura di Alberto Bologna e Cinzia Gavello, FrancoAngeli, Milano, p. 49-64, 2019
in "Cultura, arte e società al tempo di Juvarra", a cura di Giuseppe Dardanello, Leo S. Olschki Editore, Firenze 2018, pp. 91-126, 2018
Le esigenze di rappresentanza della società di corte, tradotte nell’etichetta del cerimoniale di ... more Le esigenze di rappresentanza della società di corte, tradotte nell’etichetta del cerimoniale di udienza, hanno influito in modo determinante nel radicarsi sul lungo termine di pratiche poi diventate massime generali per la configurazione delle scale principali. Lo scalone di un palazzo, tanto più se di una residenza reale, corrisponde di fatto al primo passo nel percorso cerimoniale e per questo assume una forte valenza simbolica nel suo apparire. D’altro canto, per gli architetti di età moderna la scala è un tema privilegiato di riflessione e sperimentazione, che si pone quale sfida compositiva e costruttiva. Attraverso la rilettura dei progetti di Filippo Juvarra per gli scaloni del palazzo reale di Messina, di Palazzo Madama, Rivoli e da ultimo Madrid, in un confronto aperto con modelli ricercati, prima di tutto, nella cultura romana di inizio Settecento ed esperienze condotte in parallelo (come nelle corti dell’Impero), ci si interroga sul modo in cui l’architetto messinese abbia saputo soddisfare le esigenze di carattere cerimoniale ed esprimere la propria arte: come, cioè, abbia interpretato il tema progettuale dello scalone e la sua funzione di rappresentanza per trasformarli in un’occasione creativa, perseguendo il proprio ideale di architettura aperta.
"Costruire, abitare, pensare. Sabbioneta e Charleville città ideali dei Gonzaga", catalogo della mostra (Complesso Museale Ducale di Mantova, Castello di San Giorgio, 21 ottobre 2017-2 aprile 2018), a cura di Paolo Bertelli, Mantova, Universitas Studiorum S.r.l. , 2017
"Costruire, abitare, pensare. Sabbioneta e Charleville città ideali dei Gonzaga", catalogo della mostra (Complesso Museale Ducale di Mantova, Castello di San Giorgio, 21 ottobre 2017-2 aprile 2018), a cura di Paolo Bertelli, Mantova, Universitas Studiorum S.r.l., 2017
"Costruire, abitare, pensare. Sabbioneta e Charleville città ideali dei Gonzaga", catalogo della mostra (Complesso Museale Ducale di Mantova, Castello di San Giorgio, 21 ottobre 2017-2 aprile 2018), a cura di Paolo Bertelli, Mantova, Universitas Studiorum S.r.l., 2017
"Costruire, abitare, pensare. Sabbioneta e Charleville città ideali dei Gonzaga", catalogo della mostra (Complesso Museale Ducale di Mantova, Castello di San Giorgio, 21 ottobre 2017-2 aprile 2018), a cura di Paolo Bertelli, Mantova, Universitas Studiorum S.r.l., 2017
in "Palazzo Salmatoris a Cherasco. Racconto di un edificio. Discussione di un restauro", a cura di Manfredo di Robilant, U. Allemandi, Torino 2016, pp. 38-45, 2016
in «Arte Lombarda», n.s., 195-196, 2022/2-3, pp. 173-179, 2022
In the inventory of the assets of the suppressed convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Mantua, d... more In the inventory of the assets of the suppressed convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Mantua, drawn up on 1 June 1782, the structure of the monastery and the adjoining church, recently rebuilt and dedicated to Santa Teresa, is precisely described. The entire convent, after its sale at auction, underwent profound transformations that led to its disappearance. The identification of a project intended for the mothers of Santa Teresa among the architectural studios of Count Ottavio Scotti of Treviso (1683-1748), never sufficiently investigated, now throws new light on the unclear and poorly documented events of a building and a community of nuns too soon forgotten in the religious and architectural history of the city of Mantua.
in "Vittone 250. L’atelier dell’architetto", a cura di R. Caterino, F. Favaro, E. Piccoli, «ArcHistoR EXTRA», 8, 2021 (supplemento di «ArcHistoR», 15, 2021), pp. 40-101., 2021
The personal experience of the difficulties encountered by any novice architect convinced Vittone... more The personal experience of the difficulties encountered by any novice architect convinced Vittone of the importance of providing good examples for his own students and readers. For this purpose, the most substantial section of the Istruzioni diverse (Lugano 1766) was conceived as «a mass of ideas of buildings, both sacred and profane, and of several ornaments pertaining to them» (Book II, Section II), for the profit of beginners. Our paper traces the structure of this part of the book through the analysis of the texts, and of the dozens of engravings that form the repertoire of models. The aim is to clarify the logic and mechanisms of Vittone’s selection and manipulation of both his own projects and those of other authors. What emerges, is not just a legacy of architectural forms belonging to a consolidated tradition: there is also a continuity in the architectural teaching method, which Vittone had acquired from Juvarra in Turin, firstly, and which consisted in combining the study of drawing to the practical training on the building site.
in "1981/2021 Giardini storici. Esperienze, ricerca, prospettive, a 40 anni dalle Carte di Firenze", a cura di S. Caccia Gherardini, M.A. Giusti, C. Santini, 2 voll., Firenze University Press, Firenze 2021, I, p. 58-63, 2021
The diplomatic correspondence between ambassadors, envoys, ministers and agents, preserved in the... more The diplomatic correspondence between ambassadors, envoys, ministers and agents, preserved in the Turin State Archives, focuses on the close relations between the French architects and the Savoy court, making up for the laconic nature of payments and the budgets of other archival series. Figures, exchanges, projects, artifacts, plants, bulbs and the dynamics underlying the spread of the French model in Piedmont gardens emerge from the broad spectrum of themes. If the letters help to better define the role of Le Notre and his collaborator De Marne, the judgment on Jules Hardouin-Mansart's ability to "meddle" both in architecture and in the design of gardens is relevant, heralding a major theme in the debate on professional skills and on he need - or not - of a single designer in composing residence and landscape. This network of epistolary communications helps to shed light on the mechanism of French revision of the projects developed at the Turin court, and more generally on the ways in which the role of reference - desired and sought after - of the French architectural culture.
J.W.P. Campbell (Eds), Proceedings of the sixth conference on the Construction History Society CHS, Water, Doors and Buildings. Studies in the History of Construction, Queen’s College, Cambridge, 2019
Water is at the same time an ally and insidious enemy of military architecture. When the city of ... more Water is at the same time an ally and insidious enemy of military architecture. When the city of Alessandria was chosen, around 1725, to become one of the main fortresses in the Kingdom of Sardinia, complex problems had to be faced for the construction of a new citadel on weak and flood prone soils. A pile foundation system was recognized as unavoidable, and since the very first constructional operations, a process began aimed at improving the ancient techniques in order to standardize procedures and to control costs...
in «Saggi e Memorie di Storia dell’Arte», 43, 2019, 2021
The Biblioteca comunale di Borgo Cavour in Treviso safeguards a rich documentary heritage, parts ... more The Biblioteca comunale di Borgo Cavour in Treviso safeguards a rich documentary heritage, parts of which have yet to be explored. This is the case of a portfolio of miscellaneous architectural drawings, the study of which has made it possible to determine more or less exact timescales, and to identify subjects and contexts, with proposed attributions and identifications that are open to critical appraisal. Significant fragments emerge of more or less well-known events in the architecture of the Venetian area, from the end of the sixteenth century to the early twentieth century, with the greatest point of interest undoubtedly lying in the nineteenth-century urban history of Venice.
Among the drawings of the Piedmontese architect Bernardo A. Vittone (1704-1770) now at the Musée ... more Among the drawings of the Piedmontese architect Bernardo A. Vittone (1704-1770) now at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris there are two studies for the modernization of the oratory of the Compagnia di San Paolo in Turin dating back to the early 1740s. This identification, resulting from a comparison with another drawing at Casale Monferrato and the documentary sources, not only adds further evidence of the prolific activity of an absolute protagonist of architectural scene of the period, but also gives back a credible image, in form and size, of an otherwise unknown place (dismantled at the end of the nineteenth century), where the eighteenth-century arrangement of the prestigious pictorial cycle dictated by Tesauro can be imagined.
in "Valorizzazione, transizione, trasformazione. Scritti e progetti per Sewing a small town, 2017", a cura di Alberto Bologna e Cinzia Gavello, FrancoAngeli, Milano, p. 49-64, 2019
in "Cultura, arte e società al tempo di Juvarra", a cura di Giuseppe Dardanello, Leo S. Olschki Editore, Firenze 2018, pp. 91-126, 2018
Le esigenze di rappresentanza della società di corte, tradotte nell’etichetta del cerimoniale di ... more Le esigenze di rappresentanza della società di corte, tradotte nell’etichetta del cerimoniale di udienza, hanno influito in modo determinante nel radicarsi sul lungo termine di pratiche poi diventate massime generali per la configurazione delle scale principali. Lo scalone di un palazzo, tanto più se di una residenza reale, corrisponde di fatto al primo passo nel percorso cerimoniale e per questo assume una forte valenza simbolica nel suo apparire. D’altro canto, per gli architetti di età moderna la scala è un tema privilegiato di riflessione e sperimentazione, che si pone quale sfida compositiva e costruttiva. Attraverso la rilettura dei progetti di Filippo Juvarra per gli scaloni del palazzo reale di Messina, di Palazzo Madama, Rivoli e da ultimo Madrid, in un confronto aperto con modelli ricercati, prima di tutto, nella cultura romana di inizio Settecento ed esperienze condotte in parallelo (come nelle corti dell’Impero), ci si interroga sul modo in cui l’architetto messinese abbia saputo soddisfare le esigenze di carattere cerimoniale ed esprimere la propria arte: come, cioè, abbia interpretato il tema progettuale dello scalone e la sua funzione di rappresentanza per trasformarli in un’occasione creativa, perseguendo il proprio ideale di architettura aperta.
"Costruire, abitare, pensare. Sabbioneta e Charleville città ideali dei Gonzaga", catalogo della mostra (Complesso Museale Ducale di Mantova, Castello di San Giorgio, 21 ottobre 2017-2 aprile 2018), a cura di Paolo Bertelli, Mantova, Universitas Studiorum S.r.l. , 2017
"Costruire, abitare, pensare. Sabbioneta e Charleville città ideali dei Gonzaga", catalogo della mostra (Complesso Museale Ducale di Mantova, Castello di San Giorgio, 21 ottobre 2017-2 aprile 2018), a cura di Paolo Bertelli, Mantova, Universitas Studiorum S.r.l., 2017
"Costruire, abitare, pensare. Sabbioneta e Charleville città ideali dei Gonzaga", catalogo della mostra (Complesso Museale Ducale di Mantova, Castello di San Giorgio, 21 ottobre 2017-2 aprile 2018), a cura di Paolo Bertelli, Mantova, Universitas Studiorum S.r.l., 2017
"Costruire, abitare, pensare. Sabbioneta e Charleville città ideali dei Gonzaga", catalogo della mostra (Complesso Museale Ducale di Mantova, Castello di San Giorgio, 21 ottobre 2017-2 aprile 2018), a cura di Paolo Bertelli, Mantova, Universitas Studiorum S.r.l., 2017
in "Palazzo Salmatoris a Cherasco. Racconto di un edificio. Discussione di un restauro", a cura di Manfredo di Robilant, U. Allemandi, Torino 2016, pp. 38-45, 2016
Anna Marotta, Roberta Spallone (Eds.), "Defensive Architecture of the Mediterranean. Vol. VII", proceedings of the International Conference on Modern Age Fortification of the Mediterranean Coast - FORTMED 2018 (Politecnico di Torino, 18-20 October 2018), Politecnico di Torino, p. 217-224, 2018
The Azienda generale delle Fabbriche e Fortificazioni, ancien régime institution that coordinates... more The Azienda generale delle Fabbriche e Fortificazioni, ancien régime institution that coordinates the measures of the Kingdom of Sardinia on a massive system of fortresses and citadels, develops an unprecedented capacity of control, registration and prescription over the XVIII century. The ubiquity of the administrative structure, and its constant presence, is revealed by the scale of the archives of the Azienda: over three hundred contracts are concluded only for the citadel of Alessandria between the 1730s and 1790s. Tens of millions of bricks and hundreds of operations, leading to the construction of bomb-proof (‘alla prova’) barracks, bastions and bridges are recorded, involving engineers, companies, furnaces, quarries. The overall mapping of these contracts, along with on-the-spot checks and surveys of the buildings’ constructional systems, aim at staking the usefulness and the eloquence – as well as the historical significance – of this serial source.
Nel 1616 la giovane congregazione dei padri dell’Oratorio, fondata qualche anno prima da Pierre d... more Nel 1616 la giovane congregazione dei padri dell’Oratorio, fondata qualche anno prima da Pierre de Bérulle a Parigi, s’insedia in un sito prestigioso, a due passi dal castello del Louvre, e intraprende con i favori della corte la costruzione di una chiesa. Lo studio delle alterne vicende del cantiere, interrotto e ripreso, ma mai portato a termine per più di un secolo, indaga logiche e interessi dell’investimento devozionale che si concentra nel corso del Seicento intorno all’Oratorio di Parigi, nella continua incertezza che la comunità dei padri possa essere da un momento all’altro fagocitata dai grandiosi piani di ampliamento del vicino Louvre.
"Investigating and Writing ArchItectural History: Subjects, Methodologies and Frontiers. Papers from the third EAHN International Meeting", edited by Michela Rosso
In eighteenth century Piedmont, marble had an important role in interior decoration due to its ch... more In eighteenth century Piedmont, marble had an important role in interior decoration due to its chromatic and ornamental values as much as its quality as a precious material. Following the example of Filippo Juvarra, architects explored and exploited these potentialities in interior design, while patrons both appreciated and demanded these materials. Widely employed in royal residences (such as the Galleria Beaumont by Benedetto Alfieri in Turin), marble decoration achieved its highest expression in ecclesiastical interiors, in the form of floors, balustrades and altars. This kind of decoration was either realized under the direction of an architect who provided the design and precise instructions, or was independently executed by a workshop of stonemasons by presenting their own designs to patrons, and choosing and furnishing the marbles to be used. The meeting between these two systems of working, that gave rise to very different products related to experiences, territories and local histories, is the focus of this paper: did architects and stonemasons influence each other? A comparison between the representation techniques used by Lombard craftsmen and by the architects from the capital, Turin, reveals how workmen, designers and patrons communicated their design ideas. While Lombard stonemasons carried on the workshop tradition, focusing on the decorative effect of marble polychromy, Juvarrian school architects tried to exploit this quality according to an architectural conception of space and form, sometimes collaborating with other decorators (painters or plasterers) able to reproduce the same aesthetic qualities of marble at a lower cost. This topic, relatively neglected by scholars, will be considered from individual case studies with a focus on the collaboration between the Lombard craftsmen and the architects of the Savoy court active in eighteenth century Piedmont.
In reconciled France after the Wars of Religion the new post-Tridentine orders established themse... more In reconciled France after the Wars of Religion the new post-Tridentine orders established themselves all over the country in just a few decades: many of them were founded from local initiatives, such as the Congregation of the Oratory of Jesus, founded in Paris by Pierre de Bérulle in 1611 on the pattern of Philip Neri’s Roman institute. Aimed to reform French secular clergy, Oratorians composed a society of priests who, taking no vows, chose to live in community to accomplish their apostolic ministry. Primarily devoted to reach priesthood perfection, Oratorians turned also towards education of the youth, staffing colleges and seminaries everywhere in France, usually in competition with the Jesuits.
This paper aims to analyze Oratory architectural politics and production, by introducing the results of an ongoing research. The Congregation exercised a clear form of centralized control upon their buildings: no maison was authorized to contract any loan, to sell or buy, to demolish or build without a written approval from the General Superior and his Council, who demanded to be informed through drawings, notes, plans. Thus, Oratory leadership controlled the temporal administration of the whole Congregation : an architectural politic firstly influenced by cost-control and financial means, rather than by planning and formal choices. Even if Oratorians do not seem to have ever worked out any particular plan type, interest in their building practice and in their idea of architecture lies in explaining and pinpointing similarities and differences as regard to Jesuits, but also in respect to other Counter-Reformation orders.
All these aspects will be examined through the exemplary case of Abel-Louis de Sainte-Marthe, 5th General of the Oratory (1672-1696), whose predilection for architecture made him a competent reviser of the projects for the Congregation, when they weren't drawn by himself, as the rotunda of N.D. des Ardilliers in Saumur.
«Lungi dall’essere un’operazione semplice, rapida e conclusa, il rilievo ci appare invece come un... more «Lungi dall’essere un’operazione semplice, rapida e conclusa, il rilievo ci appare invece come un’operazione critica difficile, che esige estese conoscenze nel campo della storia e in quello delle tecniche costruttive nel loro svolgimento storico; che impone pazienti indagini e lunghe riflessioni; che s’attua attraverso un processo interminabile di successive e incrementali messe a punto». Questa definizione di rilievo offerta dello storico dell’architettura Franco Rosso (1939-2019) può tradurre bene almeno una parte di lavoro volto a interrogare, studiare e descrivere il suo ricchissimo archivio, oggi all'Archivio di Stato di Torino. Realizzato a valle della redazione dell’inventario, questo libro propone una prima messa a punto della complessa costellazione di contesti che hanno inciso sull’assetto delle carte di Rosso: singolare figura di storico politecnico, i cui interessi spaziano dalla costruzione delle cupole in età barocca alla storia della città e dell'architettura dell'Ottocento.
Quale posto occupa l’architettura negli interessi di una congregazione di preti fondata a Parigi ... more Quale posto occupa l’architettura negli interessi di una congregazione di preti fondata a Parigi nel 1611 per riformare la classe sacerdotale? Il filo conduttore che lega l’esplorazione dell’universo oratoriano attraverso la disamina di una complessa mole di documenti, disegni e registri, preservatasi quasi eccezionalmente integra, è un confronto aperto con la natura problematica e spesso contraddittoria dell’interpretazione dell’architettura degli ordini religiosi in età moderna. Ricostruiti i processi interni ed esterni che regolano la pratica del costruire attraverso schemi collaudati in tutte le famiglie regolari che condividono logiche analoghe di accentramento amministrativo, ci si interroga sui fondamenti ideologici che stanno alla base dell’operato dei discepoli di Pierre de Bérulle (solo lontani cugini degli omologhi romani) a confronto con interessi più concreti connessi con il mecenatismo laico che gli gravita intorno. Ed è sondando i meandri dell’erudizione letteraria e religiosa, ripercorrendo le biografie di figure esemplari, che si spiega come la disciplina architettonica possa integrarsi con le degne occupazioni di un prete oratoriano nel rendere servizio alla religione.
Throughout his career Filippo Juvarra was often required to carry out the theme of royal palace, ... more Throughout his career Filippo Juvarra was often required to carry out the theme of royal palace, since 1705 when he won the first prize in the first class of the Concorso Clementino. Engaged by Victor Amadeus II of Savoy with a sample of his ability in making a «disegno a più idee» for the royal palace of Messina (1714), in Turin Juvarra becomes the sole director of an ambitious plan of renovation based on the modernization of court residences to create an image of prestige appropriate to the rank of kingdom acquired after Utrecht. The monumental transformation of Rivoli Castle (since 1715) and the magnificent staircase of Palazzo Madama (1718-1721) represent central episodes of a reflection that comes to the planning of the new royal palace of Madrid for Philip V of Bourbon (1735). The series of royal residences designed by Juvarra is analyzed through the ceremonial device that articulates in a precise spatial sequence atrium and staircase to reach the state apartments. This survey requires a comparison with models of a consolidated tradition in aristocratic and princely palaces, in order to comprehend the quality and the novelty of Juvarrian interpretation, by reflecting on the connection between typology, function and etiquette.
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Papers by Roberto Caterino
This paper aims to analyze Oratory architectural politics and production, by introducing the results of an ongoing research. The Congregation exercised a clear form of centralized control upon their buildings: no maison was authorized to contract any loan, to sell or buy, to demolish or build without a written approval from the General Superior and his Council, who demanded to be informed through drawings, notes, plans. Thus, Oratory leadership controlled the temporal administration of the whole Congregation : an architectural politic firstly influenced by cost-control and financial means, rather than by planning and formal choices. Even if Oratorians do not seem to have ever worked out any particular plan type, interest in their building practice and in their idea of architecture lies in explaining and pinpointing similarities and differences as regard to Jesuits, but also in respect to other Counter-Reformation orders.
All these aspects will be examined through the exemplary case of Abel-Louis de Sainte-Marthe, 5th General of the Oratory (1672-1696), whose predilection for architecture made him a competent reviser of the projects for the Congregation, when they weren't drawn by himself, as the rotunda of N.D. des Ardilliers in Saumur.
The series of royal residences designed by Juvarra is analyzed through the ceremonial device that articulates in a precise spatial sequence atrium and staircase to reach the state apartments. This survey requires a comparison with models of a consolidated tradition in aristocratic and princely palaces, in order to comprehend the quality and the novelty of Juvarrian interpretation, by reflecting on the connection between typology, function and etiquette.