There are no obsessions. Passion and curiosity, but no obsession. In the observation of the hexagrams of the I-Ching the n. 53 stands out for its vague resemblance to the letter A, or for the analogy with the shape of a small house, as a child would draw it, but with a flat roof. A… Read more »

(…I would like to point out that, by writing Kafka, the proofreader automatically changes the name to Kakà, to remind us of the good times in the present…) I remember reading somewhere that Christo (Javacheff, Bulgarian artist), packed up the Reichstag in Berlin, before its transformation by Norman Foster, to ensure that all those who… Read more »

In a book by and about Fellini (making a film – Einaudi) his reflections return, even more precisely, on the difference between the film conceived and the film made. This reflection allows me to build a bridge with the practice of architecture. When Fellini talks about the conceived film, he even alludes to the indistinct… Read more »

Karl Marx published the Communist Party manifesto in London in 1848 In the same year, in the same city, the Pre-Raphaelite artistic movement was founded, one of the greatest exponents of which was the then twenty-four year old William Morris The influence of Marxist theories took root on Morris, who would become one of the… Read more »

The numbers: 100 years ago Italy had around 35,000,000 inhabitants Today Piedmont is the second Italian region in terms of number of municipalities and is at the same time the penultimate region in terms of average inhabitants/municipality. 3 of the 5 least populous municipalities in Italy are in Piedmont: Macra (40) Briga Alta (40) Ingria… Read more »

Tortona, Province of Alessandria In the 20 years from 1951 to 1971 the population increased by approximately 30%. Subsequently it stabilizes to arrive, today, at a number that corresponds by default to the 1971 figure. This indicator is common to many small towns (but Pavia is not exempt from it either) that gravitate around the… Read more »

Layering in architecture is a curious fact, sometimes underestimated. I visited the Palatine Chapel in Aachen, which is an emblematic example. A series of successive gems, starting from the octagon that Carlo had built on a model that is not frequent but dear to the Christian tradition, and which today are practically not perceived by… Read more »