Giuseppe Terragni
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Giuseppe Terragni (; 18 April 1904 – 19 July 1943) was an Italian
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
who worked primarily under the fascist regime of
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
and pioneered the Italian
modern movement Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
under the rubric of
Rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy' ...
. His most famous work is the
Casa del Fascio A ''casa del Fascio'', ''casa Littoria'', or ''casa del Littorio'' () was a building housing the local branch of the National Fascist Party and later the Republican Fascist Party under the regime of Italian Fascism, in Italy and its colonies. ...
built in
Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...
, northern Italy, which was begun in 1932 and completed in 1936; it was built in accordance with the International Style of architecture and frescoed by abstract artist
Mario Radice Mario Radice (10 August 1898 – 26 July 1987) was an Italian painter born in Como. He is considered to be an important Italian abstract artist. Life and work Mario Radice, together with Manlio Rho, Aldo Galli, Carla Badiali and ...
. In 1938, at the behest of Mussolini's fascist government, Terragni designed the Danteum, an unbuilt monument to the Italian poet
Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
structured around the formal divisions of his greatest work, the
Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...
.


Biography

Giuseppe Terragni was born to a prominent family in
Meda Meda may refer to: Places * Meda de Mouros, a parish in Tábua Municipality, Portugal * Medas, a parish in Gondomar Municipality, Portugal * Meda-Ela, Sri Lanka * Međa (Leskovac), village in the municipality of Leskovac, Serbia * Meda, Lombardy ...
,
Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
.Hugo Lindgren
ARCHITECTURE; A Little Fascist Architecture Goes a Long Way
''The New York Times'', October 12, 2003, accessed May 10, 2018.
He attended the Technical College in
Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...
then studied architecture at the
Politecnico di Milano The Polytechnic University of Milan () is the largest technical university in Italy, with about 42,000 students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and higher education courses in engineering, architecture and design. Founded in 186 ...
university. In 1927 he and his brother Attilio opened an office in Como. They remained in practice until Giuseppe's death during the war years. A pioneer of the modern movement in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, Terragni produced some of its most significant buildings. A founding member of the fascist
Gruppo 7 Gruppo 7 was a group of Italian architects who wanted to reform architecture by the adoption of Rationalism. It was formed in 1926 by Luigi Figini, Guido Frette, Sebastiano Larco, Gino Pollini, Carlo Enrico Rava, Giuseppe Terragni and Ubaldo Castagn ...
and a leading Italian Rationalist, Terragni fought to move architecture away from neo-classical and neo-baroque revivalism. In 1926 he and other progressive members of Gruppo 7 issued the manifesto that made them the leaders in the fight against revivalism. In a career that lasted only 13 years, Terragni created a small but remarkable group of designs; most of them were built in Como, which was one of the centers of the
Modern Movement Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
in Italy. These works form the nucleus of the language of Italian rationalist or modernistic architecture. Terragni was also one of the leaders of the artistic group called "astrattisti comaschi" with
Mario Radice Mario Radice (10 August 1898 – 26 July 1987) was an Italian painter born in Como. He is considered to be an important Italian abstract artist. Life and work Mario Radice, together with Manlio Rho, Aldo Galli, Carla Badiali and ...
and
Manlio Rho Manlio Rho (1901 – 1957) was a painter born in Como, Italy. He is considered one of the most important abstract artists in Italy. Life and work In the late 1920s Manlio Rho was deeply involved in Como's engagement with the European ...
, one of the most important events in Italian Modern Art. He also contributed to the 1932
Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution The Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution (''Mostra della Rivoluzione Fascista'') was a show held in Rome at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni from 1932 to 1934. Opened by Benito Mussolini on 28 October 1932, it had 4 million visitors. Its director a ...
. In his last designs, Terragni achieved a more distinctive Mediterranean character through the fusion of modern theory and tradition. His brother, Attilio, was the Fascist Podestà (mayor) of Como when the
Casa del Fascio A ''casa del Fascio'', ''casa Littoria'', or ''casa del Littorio'' () was a building housing the local branch of the National Fascist Party and later the Republican Fascist Party under the regime of Italian Fascism, in Italy and its colonies. ...
was commissioned, and his chief architectural patron was one of Mussolini's mistresses. His career was sidetracked by Italy's entry into World War II, where he was part of the Italian army sent to the Eastern Front. After the Italians collapsed near
Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...
, Terragni produced drawings of the suffering around him and suffered a nervous breakdown. Terragni returned to Como where he died of
thrombosis Thrombosis (from Ancient Greek "clotting") is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel (a vein or an artery) is injured, the body uses platelets (thro ...
in 1943.


See also

*
Stripped Classicism Stripped Classicism (or "Starved Classicism" or "Grecian Moderne") Jstor is primarily a 20th-century Classical architecture, classicist architectural style stripped of most or all Ornament (art), ornamentation, frequently employed by governmen ...
* Danteum


References


Arch. Terragni Giuseppe
Fascismo - Architettura - Arte / Arte fascista web site


Bibliography

* Dennis Doordan, 'Building Modern Italy'', New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1988. * Peter Eisenman, ''Giuseppe Terragni: Transformations, Decompositions, Critiques'', New York: The Monacelli Press, 2003. * Muriel Emmanuel, ''Contemporary Architects'', New York: St. Martin's Press, 1980. . NA680.C625. * David Rifkind, 'The Battle for Modernism: Quadrante and the Politicization of Architectural Discourse in Fascist Italy'', Vicenza and Venice, Italy: Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio and Marsilio Editori, 2012. * Thomas L. Schumacher, ''The Danteum'', New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1996. * Thomas L. Schumacher, ''Surface and Symbol: Giuseppe Terragni and the Architecture of Italian Rationalism'', New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1991. * Dennis Sharp, ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Architects and Architecture,'' New York: Quatro Publishing, 1991. . NA40.I45. p152. * Luigi Zuccoli, "Quindi anni di vita e di lavoro con l'amico e maestro Architetto Giuseppe Terrangi", Como 1981, Edizioni Cesare Nani, Melfi 2015, Libria, nella riedizione a cura di Luca Lanini, con saggi di Giovanni Menna, Valerio Paolo Mosco, Franco Purini e un ricordo di Carlo Zuccoli 1904 births 1943 deaths 20th-century Italian architects Italian fascist architecture Italian fascists People from Meda Polytechnic University of Milan alumni Italian military personnel of World War II Deaths from thrombosis {{Italy-architect-stub