Session at AISU: Architettura e politica attiva in Italia nel secondo Novecento.

Why a large number of Italian architects, town planners, engineers and art historians choose the path of active politics in Italy in the second half of the 20th century?
For example, Marcello Vittorini and Cesare Valle acted as ministerial officials; Bruno Zevi and Giuseppe Samonà were parliamentarians of the Republic; Giulio Carlo Argan was mayor of Rome; Carlo Aymonino, Giovanni Astengo, Giuseppe Campos Venuti, Edoardo Detti, Renato Nicolini were important councillors in the country's major cities; while Piero Bottoni, Luigi Cosenza, Luigi Piccinato, and Mario Ridolfi were esteemed city councillors.
Why, despite being overburdened by academic, editorial and professional commitments, they decided to dedicate themselves to active politics? Or why, on the other hand, certain political parties offered to co-opt them into leading roles? Which was the 'space' they manage to conquer and what were the areas in which they most frequently signed political and administrative acts? How the theoretical and design research carried out in the academic and professional spheres guided their parliamentary, ministerial and administrative activity? How these architects, town planners, engineers and art historians transformed their cultural positions into political choices that directly affected the development of Italian cities? And finally, why does the active political front seem to have completely disappeared from the interest of architects, engineers and art historians today?

The session aims to welcome and discuss specific contributions dedicated to single personalities or cities, based on archive research in order to question the broader historical, cultural and disciplinary condition that allowed and nourished the encounter between architecture and active politics in Italy in the second half of the 20th century, in a time that goes from Reconstruction (1945) to the judicial affair of "Mani Pulite" (1992).

To apply, please send an abstract (italian or english) and a short bio to
lorenzo.ciccarelliunifi.it and
lorenzo.mingardiunifi.it