ITALIAN VISION:
IDEAL CITIES
Two Tuesdays, February 10 and 17, and one Wednesday, February
25 at 7 – 8:30 P.M.
Mirabeau, 3203 Argonne
(One block east of Kirby, one block south of Alabama, behind Borders
Bookstore)
Why are we often filled with joy and a feeling of belonging when we
enter certain cities? As we will learn on a journey through Italy’s
most romantic cities, this sense of familiarity often results from a
well-planned seduction that evokes powerful emotions and love of place.
Tuesday, February 10 — David Mayernik: High Ideals and
the Italian Renaissance City
An architect’s tour of five Italian cities (Rome, Venice, Florence,
Siena and Pienza) will reveal how the longings, and cultural beliefs
of their citizens were built into the urban fabric. With these cities
as living models, we will consider how our own cities might be made
to reflect our dreams and aspirations. David Mayernik is an urban designer,
architect, painter and writer. He is currently a visiting professor
at the University of Notre Dame and has won the Steedman Competition
Fellowship to the American Academy in Rome. Professor Mayernik’s
new book, which he will sign following the lecture, is Timeless
Cities: An Architect's Reflections on Renaissance Italy.
Tuesday, February 17 — Medina Lasansky:
How Italian Fascism Reshaped the Renaissance City
Drawing upon a range of sources including photography, film and tourist
propaganda, Professor Lasansky will explore the dark side of the ideal
to show how cities such as Florence, Siena and San Gimignano were reconfigured
physically and rhetorically to support Fascist political agendas. Medina
Lasansky is an assistant professor of architectural and urban history
at Cornell University. She is author of The Past Perfected: Reshaping
the Medieval Renaissance City in Fascist Italy. Her grants and
awards include a Fulbright scholarship to Italy and the Martin Dominguez
Distinguished Teaching Award at Cornell University.
Wednesday, February 25 — Claudio Presta: Restoring the Ancient
“Sassi” of Matera
A magical, ancient town of cave dwellings, the Sassi was inhabited from
Paleolithic times until the 1950’s, when the Italian government,
embarrassed by its primitive living conditions, forced its abandonment.
Now restored, the town has been described as “the most outstanding,
intact example of a troglodyte settlement in the Mediterranean region.”
It was designated a United Nations World Heritage Site in 1993. Claudio
Presta will explain the Sassi’s history, its restoration, and
why it is now hailed as a contemporary ideal for urban planning. Presta,
an architect and urban planner, was selected to oversee the 1995 restoration
of the Sassi for residential use. He is editor in chief for the publishing
house of the Association of Roman Architects.
