OVERVIEW

The teaching will follow a path of reading and analysis of architecture from the medieval to the contemporary age, focusing on the most significant works from the point of view of architectural language, constructional features and relationships with the relevant contexts (territorial, historical, artistic, patronage).

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Aim of the course will be providing the necessary tools - both from the point of view of methodology and that of criticism - for a correct reading of the architectural space, considered in its relationship with the historical-artistic context and with that of the client, with particular attention to the Genoese case.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching will provide the student with the tools necessary to conduct an independent analysis of the architectural and urban artifact, considering it in its place in the cultural and territorial context of reference. both from the point of view of architectural forms and from that of techniques, materials and function, with particular reference to the stages of design and execution, the use of models and treatises and the figure of the architect. Special attention will also be paid to the critical context of reference of the works and periods analyzed.

PREREQUISITES

A knowledge of medieval, modern and contemporary art history acquired while attending the three-year degree program in Conservazione dei Beni Culturali (or related degree programs) is essential for successful completion of the course.

TEACHING METHODS

Teaching will include lessons with PowerPoint presentation, discussion with students on the topics covered, and exercises in reading architectural space.

Classes are held in person. Attendance, although not compulsory, is recommended. The lecturer, at the specific request of a student (by e-mail), may allow him/her to follow classes remotely via “Teams” platform and to view class recordings.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Introduction to architectural vocabulary; introduction to reading a work of architecture and architectural drawing: function, construction, form; brief remarks on composition, use and meaning of architectural orders; early Christian and Byzantine architecture: Rome, Constantinople, Milan, Ravenna, Venice, Sicily; Carolingian and Romanesque outcomes in Europe and Italy; the Gothic experiment: Abbot Suger and Saint Denis, l'Ile de France, Chartres; the mature Gothic: Reims, Amiens, Beauvais and Bourges; Gothic rayonnant and Gothic flamboyant; Gothic in Italy; the 15th century: from Florentine Humanism to the ideal city; Brunelleschi in Florence; Leon Battista Alberti treatise writer and architect in Rimini, Florence, Mantua; investigating and restoring space: perspective; fifteenth-fifteenth-century architectural treatises and the debate on the Vitruvian text; other centers of the Renaissance: Pienza, Urbino; Lombard experiences in the late fifteenth century; the early sixteenth century in Rome: Bramante; the theme of the villa and palace in the sixteenth century: the Genoese case; Michelangelo's work from Medici patronage in Florence to Roman interventions; the site of St. Peter's from the early Christian age to Marcello Piacentini; Baroque Rome: Bernini, Borromini, Pietro da Cortona; Baroque and Rococo in Europe; 18th-century classicism: Piranesi, Soufflot, de Wailly, Boullée, Ledoux; the 19th century in Europe: eclecticism and engineering; Art Nouveau, Jugendstil, Art Nouveau; Europe and the USA in the first half of the 20th century: Wright, Gropius, Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe; Modernism and Postmodernism; the latest trends in museum architecture.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

They constitute study aids for preparation:

A) FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS
1) contents of the lessons (all material projected and analyzed in class will be provided via AULAWEB platform)
2) The candidate should prepare the topics covered in the reference textbook:

- G. Cricco, F. P. Di Teodoro, Il Cricco Di Teodoro. Itinerario nell'arte, versione gialla, latest edition or any reprints (vol. 2 Dall'arte paleocristiana a Giotto, vol. 3 Dal Gotico internazionale al Manierismo, vol. 4 Dal Barocco al Postimpressionismo, vol. 5 Dall'Art Nouveau ai giorni nostri) (to be considered for the parts dealing with the topics of architecture and urban planning).

Students who have attended at least 2/3 of the lessons may use, as an alternative to the above textbook and to be considered only for the topics covered in class, supplementing it with notes, the text:

- D. Watkin, Storia dell’architettura occidentale, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2019 (latest edition or any reprints ) (the text is also available in English: D. Watkin, A History of Western Architecture, London, Laurence King Pub, 2011).

3) In addition to the contents of the lessons and in addition to the above, the student must report on the reading of one of the following in-depth texts (one to be chosen from the following three) in the examination:

- C. Tosco, L'architettura medievale in Italia 600-1200, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016

- C. L. Frommel, Architettura del rinascimento italiano, Milano, Skira, 2009 (the text is also available in English: C. L. Frommel, The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London, Thames & Hudson, 2007).

- G. Montanari, E. Dellapiana, Una storia dell'architettura contemporanea, Torino, UTET Università, 2015 (Ch. 1 to ch. 14 inclusive).

The list of texts may be subject to change, so it is advisable, before purchasing or borrowing, to wait until the start of the lectures and the lecturer's presentation of the syllabus. Additional in-depth bibliography, if any, will be provided by the lecturer during the lectures.

B) FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS
The candidate should prepare the topics covered in the following textbook:

- G. Cricco, F. P. Di Teodoro, Il Cricco Di Teodoro. Itinerario nell'arte, versione gialla, latest edition or any reprints (vol. 2 Dall'arte paleocristiana a Giotto, vol. 3 Dal Gotico internazionale al Manierismo, vol. 4 Dal Barocco al Postimpressionismo, vol. 5 Dall'Art Nouveau ai giorni nostri) (to be considered for the parts dealing with the topics of architecture and urban planning).

In addition to the above, the student must report on the reading of one of the following background texts (one to be chosen from the following three) in the examination:

- C. Tosco, L'architettura medievale in Italia 600-1200, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016

- C. L. Frommel, Architettura del rinascimento italiano, Milano, Skira, 2009 (the text is also available in English: C. L. Frommel, The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London, Thames & Hudson, 2007).

- G. Montanari, E. Dellapiana, Una storia dell'architettura contemporanea, Torino, UTET Università, 2015 (Ch. 1 to ch. 14 inclusive).

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

SARA RULLI (President)

MATTEO CAPURRO

ALESSANDRO MANUCCI (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons will begin the week of February 17, 2025

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral examination in the form of an interview aimed at verifying the learning of the content covered in the course and the acquisition of a methodology for reading the architectural and urban artifact. It is planned to comment on images contained in the indicated study and reading texts and images shown in class, which will be made available on the Aulaweb platform in PowerPoint format at the end of the course.

Halfway through the course, on a date that will be communicated well in advance, for attending students only, there will be an optional intermediate written test that will cover only the topics covered up to that point in class: the test will consist of 5 open-ended questions, each with a maximum score of 6 points, which the attending students must answer in a maximum time of 1 hour and 30 minutes. The preparation for this midterm examination may be done on the notes taken in class. If the test is passed with a score of 18/30 or higher, in case of acceptance it will average with the final exam grade, which will then cover only the topics covered in class after the midterm examination itself. This second part will be to be prepared on the notes, the texts indicated in the bibliography and the choice reading. If, on the other hand, the midterm examination is not passed, one chooses not to take it or to reject the grade, the student must bring to the exam the entire course syllabus, to be prepared on the texts indicated in the bibliography and on the reading by choice.

Students with disabilities or learning disorders.

Students with disabilities or learning disorders are entitled specific adjustments, provided they upload the relevant certifications and documents on the University's dedicated webpage. See http://servizionline.unige.it under rubric 'Students'. The documents will be validated by the relevant office within the University (Settore servizi per l’inclusione degli studenti con disabilità e con DSA dell’Ateneo) (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111).

At least 10 days before the exam, students will have to email the instructor, Cc'ing the aforementioned office, as well as the School's deputy for matters concerning students with disabilities and learning disorders (elisabetta.colagrossi@unige.it). Please specify the following in your email:

- name, surname, student number
- course name and number
- date of your exam
- adjustments required

Once the School's representative confirms your eligibility, you will liaise with your instructor to finalize the details. The final decision on what adjustments are acceptable rests with your instructor.

Please note that any request must be sent at least 10 days before your exam, to successfully complete the process in time. Please also note that the mind maps to be used on the day of your exam have to be significantly more concise than those you use when you study.

For further information, please see:
https://unige.it/sites/unige.it/files/2024-05/Linee%20guida%20per%20la%20richiesta%20di%20servizi%2C%20di%20strumenti%20compensativi%20e_o%20di%20misure%20dispensative%20e%20di%20ausili%20specifici%20Maggio%202024.pdf

Erasmus students

Erasmus students not proficient in Italian may request a substitutive bibliography, and take the examination in english

ASSESSMENT METHODS

At the oral examination, each answer corresponding to the commentary on the proposed works will be assigned a grade from 18 to 30 cum laude in relation to the ability to contextualize them and the discussion on the readings addressed; the final grade will be the average of the evaluations of the individual answers; in case the attending student has taken advantage of the intermediate written test, the average will also be calculated taking into account the grade of the latter according to the calculation (oral test grade + intermediate test grade)/2.

Exam schedule