The work of the Sienese architect Francesco di Giorgio Martini is widely discussed within the scientific debate regarding the construction of the Aragonese Castle of Taranto. To date, the discussion is essentially based on two hypotheses: the first suggests the presence of the Sienese architect in Terra d’Otranto during the last two decades of the 15th century, during a journey to the Kingdom of Naples alongside Duke Alfonso I of Calabria. The second hypothesis proposes that Francesco di Giorgio Martini may have contributed to the construction of the fortress indirectly, through directives and design plans that were subsequently executed.Therefore, it has been considered appropriate to verify whether the principles of Martini’s architecture, as outlined by the Sienese architect in his Trattato di Architettura Civile e Militare, can be found in the Taranto castle, thus validating the possible attribution to the great architect. The analysis has particularly focused on two main themes: the towers (Book V, Chapters IV-VIII) (the Annunziata Tower and San Lorenzo Tower) and the chapel dedicated to San Leonardo (Book IV, Chapters III-VI).Furthermore, a comparative architectural and constructional analysis was carried out both on the towers of the Taranto castle and on the religious building, in comparison with other works attributed to Francesco di Giorgio Martini.
Archaeological research underway in the castle of Casertavecchia (Caserta, Italy) has highlighted the considerable potential for knowledge that comes from the application of archaeological methodologies (excavation, analysis of wall stratigraphy, study of material culture, etc.). The fortress has been known from written sources since the middle of the XIII century. It was also restored many times, starting in the second half of the XX century. Even in the face of partial archaeological investigations conducted in small sectors of the architectural complex, the new approach is making it possible to pinpoint the characteristics and dynamics of attendance at the castle and the associated chronological problems with greater precision.Also, preliminary examinations of ceramics highlight the last phases of occupation of the fortress, i.e. the years between the end of the Middle Ages and the early Modern Age: among the numerous ceramic specimens found during the excavation, there are interesting fragments of tableware-covered with enamel and with polychrome decoration which adorned the tables of the noble classes who resided in the fortress. The similarities that the clay finds highlight with what is known for the Caserta area also confirm the centrality of the site within the ceramic supply networks for this sector of northern Campania, despite the absence of consolidated knowledge about the production centres during the late Middle Ages.
This article re-reads the
Disobedience Archive
through the notion of threshold at curatorial, institutional, and spatio-temporal levels. It posits the archive-as-device, activated differently by each display, and asks whether Rivoli’s parliamentary layout can turn the museum into a deliberative arena without neutralising dissent. By comparing it with,
The Zoetrope
(Venice Biennale, 2024), the paper examines how the shift to a spiral reshapes perception while preserving the archive’s nomadic, critical vocation and its genealogical, constellation-based logics.
Recent research separates the construction of the Casertavecchia castle from the foundation of the urban settlement, attested in since 861 during the domination of the Lombard dukes of Benevento. The castle was built later, shortly after 1150 in the Norman period, after the constitution of the Comitatus Casertae, approved by the king of Sicily Ruggero II. Composed by successive extensions, the castle at the end of the thirteenth century had taken the shape of a hexagonal building with an internal courtyard, equipped with quadrangular towers, placed on the eastern and western fronts, and defended by an imposing cylindrical keep, located a few meters above the palace. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the construction in the plain of a new Count’s palace caused the decline of the Casertavecchia castle, which was within a few decades completely abandoned. In recent times the castle has been subject to restoration interventions, not definitive because sporadically carried out on the Availability of economic resources each time insufficient for the design of an overall intervention. At different times, the areas outside the building were arranged, the hall on the ground floor of the eastern body was rebuilt, some wall partitions and perimeter towers were consolidated. It is hoped that in the near future a new restoration project can be drawn up with scientific method and that the building can be assigned an adequate and stable use.
The discussion that is intended to be presented consists in a first result of the mission of the Polytechnic of Bari, Architecture, Construction and Design Department, Laboratory of History of Architecture, Archeology and Restoration, carried out on the Fortified Citadel of Berat in Albania as part of the project sponsored by the Italian Foreign Ministry: Albanian - Italian Scientific Cooperation Agreement for the Archaeological Study Program of Berat.The historical analysis of the fortified citadel of Berat can be examined through different phases, tracing its evolution over time characterized by a strong reuse of the same sites and above all of ancient stone materials.The oldest materials, partially ‘in place’, belongs to the Illyrian era, and are characterized by blocks of cyclopean dimensions, (mainly) in limestone, squared and placed with isodomic work. The fortress is strongly stratified starting from a first settlement in the 4th century. B.C. then heavily readapted yet in ancient times, until the Byzantine period with the emperors Theodosius II (5th century) and Justinian I (6th century). The different nature of the stone material, the strong reuse, the introduction of different types of mortar, allows for an extremely complex stratigraphic map which constitutes a thickening of the historical documentary value of the site itself.At the same time, the differences of materials and construction techniques and the conditions of partial ruin constitute an important source
The text offers an in-depth historical/critical reading and an articulate diagnostic/design analysis of the Baronial Castle of Acerra, a city located in the northeastern province of Naples, founded by the Ausonians and infrastructured at the urban level by the Romans in 332 B.C. The fortified complex represents, through its architectural stratifications, about two thousand years of history. Specifically, the Baronial Castle derives its characteristic plan layout, in the shape of a semicircle, from its ancient pre-existence: a theater building with a semicircular cavea. On the primitive layout of Roman times, through architectural subtractions and additions, a complex fortified structure was built, from the Middle Ages until the eighteenth century, a true testimonial palimpsest not only of Acerra's architectural history but also and above all of its social history. As a whole, the Baronial Castle appeared, until the early years of the 21st century, as a suffering monument devastated in its morphological and linguistic features. In the face of such disturbing neglect, a virtuous design path began in 2007 that allowed for a first restoration of the fortified structure of the Baronial Castle of Acerra including the outer walls with the Renaissance portal, the inner walls and, between these two semicircular linear structures, also the restoration of the interstitial garden.
This paper explores the non-Francophone books preserved in Paul Claudel’s personal library. It focuses on volumes written in the languages known by Claudel (Greek, Latin, German, English, and Italian) and showcases how written annotations reveal his literary interests and the way he learned foreign languages. An investigation of books written in languages which Claudel did not know shows that even books which he could not have read still have much to tell us about his cultural milieu and his professional life.
The Castle of Ugento is a compact structure made of carparo stone, built in different periods on the highest part of the Serra di Ugento. Between 2014 and 2019, it underwent restoration and repurposing interventions aimed not only at preserving the building from deterioration and the risk of collapse but also at integrating it into contemporary life. This was achieved by introducing hospitality and educational functions, as well as museum spaces. The restoration project of the Castle of Ugento is an excellent example of a public-private synergy. The privately owned building was partially entrusted to the Municipality, which converted the first floor into a self-referential museum (spanning over 1,000 square meters of frescoed surfaces) and into spaces that host temporary exhibitions and events. The ground floor was later privately developed, culminating in the creation of a boutique hotel and an international culinary school operating year-round, the Puglia Culinary Center. What makes this intervention unique is its execution within a stratified context, where Norman archaeological remains were uncovered and seamlessly integrated into the hospitality spaces through a valorization project involving a range of professionals (engineers, archaeologists, restorers, and art historians) coordinated by the Carafa and Guadagno Associated Studio.The project not only addressed architectural, infrastructural, and structural aspects but also delved into bespoke interior design, ensuring t