The course proposes an overview of the architecture of the past, providing tools to analyze and understand the historical reasons and assess its quality. To this end, students are asked to examine the architectures selected focusing on the reasons of their construction in a specific time and place, what were the objectives of the client, the builder and the architect, how and why certain techniques and specific materials have been chosen, what relationship these buildings have with the architectures of the past and those contemporary to them, considering how these aspects are related to each other, reconstructing the design process, when it is sufficiently documented. In the first year the chosen buildings are the ones deemed most significant, including during the time span from the classical age extended to the sixteenth century.
Canali
teacher profile teaching materials
The course is chronological, from the most ancient architecture to the architecture of the early modern age, and will include some thematic and seminar lessons, focusing on specific aspects, which may also be treated from a diachronic perspective.
PART I. COMPARED ANTIQUITIES: Architectural orders and origin of the temple; Greece and the East. From the Parthenon to the Dydimaion; ancient building techniques; the Etruscans; Roman architecture: tempio and foro; theatres and amphitheatres; domus, villa, palace.
PART II. CULTURES AND CONNECTIONS. FROM THE DECLINE OF ROME TO THE BIRTH OF EUROPE: Rome, Milan, Constantinople, Ravenna; Longobards and Carolingians in Europe; "Proto-Romanesque" and "Romanesque" in Italy and Europe; Gothic in Europe and Italy.
PART III. ARCHITECTURE IN THE HUMANISTIC AND RENAISSANCE AGES: Filippo Brunelleschi; Leon Battista Alberti; Giuliano da Sangallo; Bramante Raphael and his workshop; Michelangelo in Florence and Rome; Giulio Romano in Rome and Mantua, Andrea Palladio; tools of architect: drawings and treatises.
Programme
In 2023-2024 the course proposes an examination of the history of ancient, medieval and Renaissance architecture with particular reference to the Mediterranean and European areas.The course is chronological, from the most ancient architecture to the architecture of the early modern age, and will include some thematic and seminar lessons, focusing on specific aspects, which may also be treated from a diachronic perspective.
PART I. COMPARED ANTIQUITIES: Architectural orders and origin of the temple; Greece and the East. From the Parthenon to the Dydimaion; ancient building techniques; the Etruscans; Roman architecture: tempio and foro; theatres and amphitheatres; domus, villa, palace.
PART II. CULTURES AND CONNECTIONS. FROM THE DECLINE OF ROME TO THE BIRTH OF EUROPE: Rome, Milan, Constantinople, Ravenna; Longobards and Carolingians in Europe; "Proto-Romanesque" and "Romanesque" in Italy and Europe; Gothic in Europe and Italy.
PART III. ARCHITECTURE IN THE HUMANISTIC AND RENAISSANCE AGES: Filippo Brunelleschi; Leon Battista Alberti; Giuliano da Sangallo; Bramante Raphael and his workshop; Michelangelo in Florence and Rome; Giulio Romano in Rome and Mantua, Andrea Palladio; tools of architect: drawings and treatises.
Core Documentation
- A. Bruschi et al., Lineamenti di storia dell'architettura per i corsi di storia dell'architettura: introduzione e premessa di Arnaldo Bruschi e Gaetano Miarelli Mariani, Roma, Sovera, 1994Reference Bibliography
Selected bibliography A. Bruschi, Introduzione alla storia dell'architettura. Considerazioni sul metodo e sulal storia degli studi, Roma 2009 Architettura romana: i grandi monumenti, a cura di H. von Hesberg, P. Zanker, Milano 2009 Da Costantino a Carlo Magno, a cura di S. de Blaauw, Milano 2010 C. Tosco, L'architettura medievale in Italia. 600-1200, Bologna 2016 Il Quattrocento, a cura di F.P. Fiore, Milano 1998 Il primo Cinquecento, a cura di A. Bruschi, Milano 2002 Il secondo Cinquecento, a cura di C. Conforti, R.J. Tuttle, Milano 2001 Catalogues Sistema Bibliotecario di Ateneo https://sba.uniroma3.it/ Catalogo del Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale https://opac.sbn.it/opacsbn/opac/iccu/free.jsp Jstor https://www.jstor.org/ Digital sources Trattati di architettura: http://architectura.cesr.univ-tours.fr/Traite/liste.asp Opere d’arte: Web Gallery of Art https://www.wga.hu/ Disegni del Gabinetto dei Disegni e delle Stampe, Gallerie Uffizi, Firenze https://euploos.uffizi.it/index.php Biblioteca digitalizzata dell’Institut national d’histoire de l’art INHA Paris https://bibliotheque-numerique.inha.fr/ Fonti bibliografiche digitali Universitäts-bibliothek Heidelberg https://www.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/ Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani https://www.treccani.it/biografie/Type of delivery of the course
The course includes ex cathedra and on-site lectures. The programme is divided into three modules, subdivided chronologically. The first (Part I) is dedicated to ancient architecture, the second (Part II) to late antique and medieval architecture, the third (Part III) to 15th and 16th century architecture (see programme). Seminars and conferences dedicated to transdisciplinary themes will be organised and will be announced during the course. Students will receive the iconographic materials used for the lectures, which will also constitute a further guide to the topics covered. NOTICES Notices regarding teaching activities, including any changes in the timetable, and teaching materials will be published in the appropriate section of the departmental website and in the course Teams channel.Attendance
Attendance is compulsory, for a minimum of 75% of the lessons, both for the frontal teaching activities and for the seminar activities.Type of evaluation
The final evaluation is determined by three factors. 1. Final oral examination, focusing on the topics discussed in the course and the contents of the bibliography (see below GRADE). 2. Discussion of the individual study (topic "The House"). At the beginning of the course, students will receive a list of the topics planned for the academic year 2023-2024 and a vademecum containing information on how to carry out the individual study and the bibliography. 3. During the course of the semester, an intermediate written test (optional) focusing on the programme of the history of ancient and late ancient architecture is scheduled to take place approximately at the beginning of November. The test will be marked 30/30. The procedure and the schedule will be communicated at the beginning of the lessons. Those who pass the intermediate examination (mark higher than 18/30) will be allowed to discuss during the final examination only the part of the programme excluded from the examination. The mark obtained in the intermediate test (if higher than 18/30) will be averaged with the mark obtained during the final oral interview (see below GRADE). Students who do not take the intermediate test or do not pass it with a positive assessment may still take the final oral examination and will also be questioned on the contents of the programme covered by the intermediate test not passed or not taken (or both). FINAL EXAMINATION The oral exam will begin with questions on the exercise Promenades dans Rome. Histories of architecture from antiquity to the Renaissance carried out by the candidate, which will have been previously handed in to the lecturer according to the format communicated at the beginning of the course. The exam will continue with further questions on the programme. Preparation of the exercise is compulsory for the final examination and is required of all students (i.e. both those who have taken/successfully taken the intermediate examination and those who have not). Failure to prepare for the individual exercise will make it impossible to sit the exam. The duration of the final interview is approximately 20 minutes. DISTRIBUTION OF THE GRADE - Grading distribution: knowledge of the course programme 40%; individual study 30%; intermediate test 30%. - Knowledge of the main buildings and architects illustrated during the course is a prerequisite for an adequate assessment. - The use of specific vocabulary and good critical ability will contribute to a fully positive evaluation. - The marks from the mid-term tests will be valid until the last appeal of the 2023/2024 autumn session. - For those who have not taken the intermediate tests, the final assessment of the course will be determined entirely by the outcome of the oral examination. Students with disabilities or students with DSA Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), accredited by the Service Centre for Disabled Students and Students with SLD, can contact the teacher and the departmental contact person for disabilities and SLD directly to agree on the methods for taking intermediate tests and examinations and the use of compensatory tools as provided for by current legislation and the University's guidelines. teacher profile teaching materials
CLASS TOPICS
PART 1: Antiquity (3rd Cent. B.C.–7th Cent. A.D.
Roman Architecture
Roman constructions and the art of building. Concrete and cast vaults. Architectural orders. Vitruvius’De architectura. Military architecture and the castrum. Public and residential buildings. The Republican-era sanctuaries in the Lazio region. The "Forma Urbis Romae" and the topography of Rome from Augustus to Diocletian. The anthropized landscape of the Romans and the territorial infrastructures. Ancient Roman cities in Italy and the Mediterranean. Marbles quarries across the Mediterranean. Focus: Apollodorus of Damascus and the Forum and Markets of Trajan.
Late Antiquity, Early Christian, and Byzantine architecture
Procopius of Caesarea and De aedificiis. Byzantine domed systems. Ecclesiastical and residential construction. Military and defensive architecture. The new Christian capitals. The birth of major Western Christian sanctuaries. Focus: Anthemius of Tralles, Isidore of Miletus, and the construction of Hagia Sophia
PART 2: Middle Ages (8th–14th Cent.)
Early Medieval and Lombard Architecture
The idea of Rome and the persistence of Roman architecture. The Carolingian "renaissance." Cities and regions of early medieval architecture. Monastic architecture between East and West. Lombard and Basilian architecture. Focus: Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel in Aachen and the plan of St Gall.
Romanesque Architecture in Europe and Italy
Local characteristics of European and Mediterranean Romanesque architecture. The rounded arch, load-bearing walls, and groin vaults. Pilgrimage churches and hospices. The Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem and the architecture ad instar. Crusader architecture. Focus: Cluny III Abbey.
Specific characteristics of Romanesque architecture in Italy. Civil and religious power buildings; itinerant craftsmen. Key figures and buildings of Romanesque Italy. Focus: Sant'Ambrogio in Milan.
Islamic Architecture
Regions, caliphates, and periodization of Islamic architecture. The Quran and the rejection of images. Pointed arches, domes, and muqarnas. Religious, residential, public, and defensive buildings. Sanctuaries in the holy cities of Islam. Garden architecture. The legacy of Islam in Western architecture: Sicily and Spain. Focus: the minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra.
Gothic Architecture in Europe and Italy
Origin and spread of Gothic architecture. Regions and styles of Gothic architecture. The pointed arch, clustered pillars, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses, stained glass windows. Villard de Honnecour's Notebook. The circulation of Gothic craftsmen and guilds. Cathedrals and churches in the Île-de-France. Cities and construction sites of Gothic Europe. The architecture of the Benedictine Cistercian congregation and new mendicant orders. Focus: the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.
Origins of Italian Architecture
Elements of Italian urban space between the 12th and 13th centuries. The Cathedral square and the Town Hall square. Monasteries and convents in cities and their surroundings. Mercantile and bourgeois residential architecture. The Italian countryside between the 13th and 14th centuries, territorial commonwealth. The urbanization of rural areas. Key figures and buildings of Italian Gothic. Focus: San Francesco in Assisi, the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa and Piazza San Marco in Venice.
PART 3: Renaissance (15th–16th Cent.)
Renaissance Architecture in Italy
Humanism and the memory of antiquity. Vitruvius and the rediscovery of architectural orders. The evolving role of architects and new strategies for project communication: drawings and models. Architectural treatises and the birth of perspective space. Key figures: Filippo Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti, Francesco di Giorgio, Leonardo, Bramante, Raphael. The construction of St. Peter's Basilica and Raphael's circle: Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Baldassarre Peruzzi, Giulio Romano. The architecture of Michelangelo Buonarroti. Identity of Venetian architecture: Jacopo Sansovino, Andrea Falconetto, Michele Sanmicheli. The architecture of Andrea Palladio. Focus: Humanist patronage and the prince as an architect, Pius II in Pienza and Federico da Montefeltro in Urbino.
Renaissance architecture in Europe and the Mediterranean
The international fortune of Sebastiano Serlio’s and Jacopo Vignola’s treatises. France and French classicism. The impact of Italian Renaissance in Spain, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, and Russia. The architecture of Mi'mār Sinān and the Ottoman buildings. Focus: Süleymaniye camii in Istanbul.
Site visits and excursions
Thursday classes primarily consist of site visits to archaeological sites and architectural complexes in Rome.
In conjunction with the course in History of Architecture 1 - Channel I, Professor Francesca Mattei, on Saturday, November 11, and Saturday, November 25, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, two excursions are scheduled to Tivoli (including visits to Villa Adriana, Villa d'Este, and the Temples of Vesta and Sibyl) and to Rome (a list of specific locations to be determined).
Specific learning outcomes
The specific learning outcomes of the course will include the provision of appropriate methodologies for analyzing buildings, while considering their historical contexts and the associated economic factors, technological, socio-cultural, and aesthetic dynamics of the time. It also aims to develop adequate interpretative skills for architectural phenomena with independent judgment, linguistic proficiency, and communicative effectiveness.
1. Critically analyze architectural artifacts within their urban and spatial contexts.
2. Learn about construction techniques and the use of materials in relation to geographical and historical contexts
3. Understand the nature of space, the characteristics of the territory, and the construction of the landscape over time.
4. Critically examine sources on the history of architecture and problematize their definitions, concepts, and reference categories.
5. Recognize drawing conventions and various project communication tools according to different cultures and times.
David Watkin, "A History of Western Architecture", Lawrence King Publ. Ltd. London, 2015 or previous editions.
Owen Hopkins, "Reading Architecture. A Visual Lexicon", London, Lawrence King Publ. Ltd., 2012.
Programme
The course aims at providing analytical and interpretative frameworks for the study of the history of architecture in Italy and the Mediterranean region in a chronological journey from ancient Rome to the end of the sixteenth century. It includes in-depth historical and critical examinations of buildings and cities, architects and patrons, materials and techniques. Special attention will be given to drawing techniques, design tools, and graphic conventions used over time.CLASS TOPICS
PART 1: Antiquity (3rd Cent. B.C.–7th Cent. A.D.
Roman Architecture
Roman constructions and the art of building. Concrete and cast vaults. Architectural orders. Vitruvius’De architectura. Military architecture and the castrum. Public and residential buildings. The Republican-era sanctuaries in the Lazio region. The "Forma Urbis Romae" and the topography of Rome from Augustus to Diocletian. The anthropized landscape of the Romans and the territorial infrastructures. Ancient Roman cities in Italy and the Mediterranean. Marbles quarries across the Mediterranean. Focus: Apollodorus of Damascus and the Forum and Markets of Trajan.
Late Antiquity, Early Christian, and Byzantine architecture
Procopius of Caesarea and De aedificiis. Byzantine domed systems. Ecclesiastical and residential construction. Military and defensive architecture. The new Christian capitals. The birth of major Western Christian sanctuaries. Focus: Anthemius of Tralles, Isidore of Miletus, and the construction of Hagia Sophia
PART 2: Middle Ages (8th–14th Cent.)
Early Medieval and Lombard Architecture
The idea of Rome and the persistence of Roman architecture. The Carolingian "renaissance." Cities and regions of early medieval architecture. Monastic architecture between East and West. Lombard and Basilian architecture. Focus: Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel in Aachen and the plan of St Gall.
Romanesque Architecture in Europe and Italy
Local characteristics of European and Mediterranean Romanesque architecture. The rounded arch, load-bearing walls, and groin vaults. Pilgrimage churches and hospices. The Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem and the architecture ad instar. Crusader architecture. Focus: Cluny III Abbey.
Specific characteristics of Romanesque architecture in Italy. Civil and religious power buildings; itinerant craftsmen. Key figures and buildings of Romanesque Italy. Focus: Sant'Ambrogio in Milan.
Islamic Architecture
Regions, caliphates, and periodization of Islamic architecture. The Quran and the rejection of images. Pointed arches, domes, and muqarnas. Religious, residential, public, and defensive buildings. Sanctuaries in the holy cities of Islam. Garden architecture. The legacy of Islam in Western architecture: Sicily and Spain. Focus: the minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra.
Gothic Architecture in Europe and Italy
Origin and spread of Gothic architecture. Regions and styles of Gothic architecture. The pointed arch, clustered pillars, ribbed vaults, flying buttresses, stained glass windows. Villard de Honnecour's Notebook. The circulation of Gothic craftsmen and guilds. Cathedrals and churches in the Île-de-France. Cities and construction sites of Gothic Europe. The architecture of the Benedictine Cistercian congregation and new mendicant orders. Focus: the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.
Origins of Italian Architecture
Elements of Italian urban space between the 12th and 13th centuries. The Cathedral square and the Town Hall square. Monasteries and convents in cities and their surroundings. Mercantile and bourgeois residential architecture. The Italian countryside between the 13th and 14th centuries, territorial commonwealth. The urbanization of rural areas. Key figures and buildings of Italian Gothic. Focus: San Francesco in Assisi, the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa and Piazza San Marco in Venice.
PART 3: Renaissance (15th–16th Cent.)
Renaissance Architecture in Italy
Humanism and the memory of antiquity. Vitruvius and the rediscovery of architectural orders. The evolving role of architects and new strategies for project communication: drawings and models. Architectural treatises and the birth of perspective space. Key figures: Filippo Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti, Francesco di Giorgio, Leonardo, Bramante, Raphael. The construction of St. Peter's Basilica and Raphael's circle: Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Baldassarre Peruzzi, Giulio Romano. The architecture of Michelangelo Buonarroti. Identity of Venetian architecture: Jacopo Sansovino, Andrea Falconetto, Michele Sanmicheli. The architecture of Andrea Palladio. Focus: Humanist patronage and the prince as an architect, Pius II in Pienza and Federico da Montefeltro in Urbino.
Renaissance architecture in Europe and the Mediterranean
The international fortune of Sebastiano Serlio’s and Jacopo Vignola’s treatises. France and French classicism. The impact of Italian Renaissance in Spain, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, and Russia. The architecture of Mi'mār Sinān and the Ottoman buildings. Focus: Süleymaniye camii in Istanbul.
Site visits and excursions
Thursday classes primarily consist of site visits to archaeological sites and architectural complexes in Rome.
In conjunction with the course in History of Architecture 1 - Channel I, Professor Francesca Mattei, on Saturday, November 11, and Saturday, November 25, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, two excursions are scheduled to Tivoli (including visits to Villa Adriana, Villa d'Este, and the Temples of Vesta and Sibyl) and to Rome (a list of specific locations to be determined).
Specific learning outcomes
The specific learning outcomes of the course will include the provision of appropriate methodologies for analyzing buildings, while considering their historical contexts and the associated economic factors, technological, socio-cultural, and aesthetic dynamics of the time. It also aims to develop adequate interpretative skills for architectural phenomena with independent judgment, linguistic proficiency, and communicative effectiveness.
1. Critically analyze architectural artifacts within their urban and spatial contexts.
2. Learn about construction techniques and the use of materials in relation to geographical and historical contexts
3. Understand the nature of space, the characteristics of the territory, and the construction of the landscape over time.
4. Critically examine sources on the history of architecture and problematize their definitions, concepts, and reference categories.
5. Recognize drawing conventions and various project communication tools according to different cultures and times.
Core Documentation
David Watkin, "A History of Western Architecture", Lawrence King Publ. Ltd. London, 2015 or previous editions.
Owen Hopkins, "Reading Architecture. A Visual Lexicon", London, Lawrence King Publ. Ltd., 2012.
Reference Bibliography
Without a basic knowledge of the history of architecture and art related to the periods covered in the lessons, it is strongly recommended to read manuals and textbook on the history of art and architecture in English. Additional bibliography in English will be added soon.Type of delivery of the course
The course consists of two weekly lessons, each lasting four hours. Generally, the Tuesday lesson is a traditional lecture (2:00 PM - 6:00 PM), while the Thursday lesson is conducted on-site (8:30 AM - 12:30 PM). The lecture begins with an introductory teaching module (15/30 minutes) in which the contents of the previous lesson are summarized, and the thematic contents and educational objectives of the day's lesson are presented. This is followed by two teaching modules (75/90 minutes each) dedicated to the analysis of specific topics. A 15-minute break is scheduled between the two teaching modules. The lesson concludes with an assessment module based on seminar discussions, impromptu exercises, or self-assessment tests with graphic and/or textual assignments on topics assigned by the instructor (approximately 30/45 minutes). Teaching and assessment modules will be conducted using tools such as PowerPoint presentations, interactive research tools, e-learning methodologies, and collaborative learning. During the course, there are also seminars dedicated to the in-depth study of specific themes and topics, both in the classroom and through field visits. Iconographic materials used for the lessons will be available on the course's Teams channel and should be considered as mandatory study and reference material for the exam. Graphic materials and Powerpoint presentations used for classes will be available on the course's Teams channel and should be considered as mandatory study for the examination and the final discussion.Attendance
Attendance is mandatory for a minimum of 75% of the classes, including both for traditional in-class teaching activities and on-site sessions, as well as seminar activities, as stipulated by the academic regulations. Those who may have difficulty attending classes due to work-related reasons must inform the instructor by the end of October and agree on additional bibliography. The request can be done in person or via email (in this case, it is essential to ensure that you have received an email response from the instructor).Type of evaluation
Assessment components and expectations: The final assessment is determined by the final discussion, which focuses on the course program, the reference bibliography, PowerPoint presentations, and additional educational materials provided during the course, as well as any assignment established at the beginning of the course. Term discussion: The final discussion consists of an oral discussion that begins with the presentation of an individually chosen topic from the course subjects (from ancient times to the Renaissance or on a specific theme previously agreed upon with the instructor). It continues with further questions covering the entire program and any exercises established at the beginning of the course. The duration of the final discussion ranges from 30 to 40 minutes but may extend with more questions in case of inadequate responses for assessment. Grading policy: Individually chosen topic 50%; other questions on the program 50% (in the case of assignments: individual in-depth analysis 40%; other questions on the program 40%, assignments 20%). A requirement for a passing grade is knowledge of the main buildings and architects presented during the course. The use of specialized vocabulary and strong critical thinking skills will contribute to achieving a fully positive evaluation.