In questo volume:

Simone Lucchetti, Il linguaggio architettonico nella decorazione pittorica degli appartamenti pontifici di Civita Castellana

Abstract: The troubled history of the configuration of the papal apartments of Civita Castellana still represents an open theme, especially regarding the pictorial cycle which until today has not yet reached an in-depth level of investigation in the specialized literature. Originally the apartments were accommodated in a large rectangular covered flat room, which overlooked the valley with three windows. From this main room the pontiff could access two other service rooms that led up to the tower having his name. The appearance of the rooms presumably remained unchanged until the nineteenth century, when the rectangular room was divided with a series of herringbone walls and covered with a barrel vault. The object of this study focuses on the pictorial fragment found in the counter-facade of the entrance, whose pictorial language leads it back, from an initial autopsy analysis to a Borgian commission. Through a path of knowledge based on the complementarity of historical and philological studies and assisted by new digital acquisition technologies, this study aims to virtually reconstruct the pictorial gaps and analyse their architectural language.

Roberta Maria Dal Mas, Il palazzo di San Callisto in rione Trastevere a Roma: le trasformazioni dal XVII alla metà del XX secolo

Abstract: This essay, based on unpublished documents, retraces for the first time the architectural events of the palace-monastery of San Callisto in Trastevere from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Between 1618 and 1622 the Benedictines built the monastic complex between the portico of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, Largo San Callisto and Via San Cosimato, with the contribution of Orazio Torriani for the façade on Trastevere Square and on the corner of San Callisto. The convent was enlarged between 1642 and 1739, with an annex beyond the portico and above the level of the atrium of the basilica. The functional system of the construction in its different phases, was reconstructed thanks to some unpublished plans from 1874 and 1876, when half of the building was granted to Genio Militare (Military Engineering Department of the Italian Army). The part that remained in the possession of the Benedictine Order, between the basilica and the church of San Callisto, became property of the Holy See (1923-1926), without undergoing substantial changes. The wing on Via San Cosimato, with the green spaces on Via dei Fienili, was demolished in order to make room for the building of the Apostolic Congregations of Giuseppe Momo, with reconfiguration of the surrounding block (1932 -1936).

Guillaume Nicoud, La bibliothèque d’architecture d’Alexandre Ier
 

Abstract: Investigating the personal involvement of a ruler on the buildings he commissioned is of interest, if we can approach his real knowledge and even taste on the matter. This issue is of first importance in Russia where czars are often personally involved in building projects. Such connections have been partly clarified with respect to Pieter the Great and Catherine the Great through a survey of their own architectural libraries. This essay attempts to do the same with another Russian ruler who was interested in the art of building that is to say Alexander I (1777-1801-1825). Studying the titles listed in the catalogue of his personal library kept in the Archives of the State Hermitage Museum allows us to interpret how Alexander I acted in this domain, principally through personal connections with architects, from in-person meetings at home or abroad and by correspondence, from Ledoux to Soane – at a time when the reconstruction of the city of Moscow after the fire of 1812 had to be planned.

Claudio Varagnoli, Valadier tra i monti d’Abruzzo: la chiesa di San Domenico per la famiglia Ricci a Mopolino di Capitignano
 

Abstract: Located in a mountainous area on the border between Abruzzo and Lazio, but belonging to the Diocese of Rieti, the church of San Domenico (Saint Dominic) is a well-preserved example of the artistic commission of an aristocratic family between the 18th and 19th centuries. The design that Giuseppe Valadier gave for the completion of the church, even though via one of his collaborators, witnesses an effort to keep a high-level quality. The church constitutes a significant episode for the diffusion and reception of neoclassical models. It is connected to the mansion which was renovated by Giovanni Stern “in the modern manner”, commissioned by the House of Ricci. The same architect was also assigned to renovate the important mansion that the family owns in Rieti. The dating of the sacellum is rather complex, given the absence of evident archival sources, but the tombstones and the sepulchral monuments of the family might offer some suggestions. By crossing this data with other documentary sources, shapes an intense patronage profile in a rural and mountainous territory between L’Aquila and Rieti, thus on the border between the Papal State and the Kingdom of Naples. The profile of this patronage goes far beyond the provincial dimension thanks to the figures of Serafino Ricci and his son Angelo Maria, the latter being a poet and friend of artists and intellectuals on a European scale.

Xingyu Mu, Zhuo Zhang, Comunità locali e siti culturali: il caso dei mausolei della dinastia Ming

Abstract: This study was prompted by a new report on the planned relocation of 15.000 inhabitants from the World Heritage Site of the Ming Imperial Tombs in Beijing. The decision of the local authorities is worth considering: would the relocation of this group of people – the descendants of the former guards of the sepulchral area – result in a loss of heritage value and integrity? The paper confirms that in traditional Chinese society, the act of guarding or safekeeping of the tombs was not accidental, but rather a social behaviour that expressed Chinese philosophical thought and embodied the traditional social structure of imperial China. This study, dealing with intangible traditions but also looking at the historical development of the mausoleum’s master plan and architectural space, reaffirms that the tomb-keepers should be considered as an integral part of the site, thereby advocating for a careful review of the relocation plan through a multidisciplinary approach.