Giuseppe Terragni
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
who worked primarily under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
and pioneered the Italian modern movement under the rubric of Rationalism. His most famous work is the Casa del Fascio
Casa del Fascio (Como)
The Casa del Fascio is a building located in Como, northern Italy, a work of Italian rationalist architect Giuseppe Terragni.Started in 1932 and completed in 1936 under the regime of Benito Mussolini, this municipal administration building was originally constructed with a primary view of...
built in Como
Como
Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....
, northern Italy, which was begun in 1932 and completed in 1936; it was built in accordance with the International Style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
of architecture and frescoed by abstract artist Mario Radice
Mario Radice
Mario Radice was an Italian painter born in Como. He is considered to be an important Italian abstract artist.-Life and work:...
. In 1938, at the behest of Mussolini's fascist government, Terragni designed the Danteum
Danteum
The Danteum is an unbuilt monument to Dante Alighieri designed by the modernist architect Giuseppe Terragni at the behest of Benito Mussolini's Fascist government.The structure was meant to be built in Rome on the Via dell'Impero...
, a monument to the Italian poet Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
structured around the formal divisions of his greatest work, the Divine Comedy.
Biography
Giuseppe Terragni was born in Meda, LombardyLombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
.
He attended the Technical College in Como
Como
Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....
then studied architecture at the Politecnico di Milano university. In 1927 he and his brother Attilio opened an office in Como. They remained in practice until Giuseppe's death during the war.
A pioneer of the modern movement in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Terragni produced some of its most significant buildings. A founding member of the fascist Gruppo 7
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, Giuseppe Pagano, Gino Pollini, Carlo Enrico Rava, Giuseppe Terragni and Ubaldo Castagnola, replaced the following year...
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
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, Giuseppe Pagano, Gino Pollini, Carlo Enrico Rava, Giuseppe Terragni and Ubaldo Castagnola, replaced the following year...
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
Como
Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....
, which was one of the centers of the Modern Movement in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. 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
Mario Radice was an Italian painter born in Como. He is considered to be an important Italian abstract artist.-Life and work:...
and Manlio Rho
Manlio Rho
Manlio Rho was a painter born in Como, Italy. He is considered one of the most important abstract artists in Italy.-Life and work:...
, one of the most important events in Italian Modern Art. He also contributed to the 1932 Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution
Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution
The Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution was a show held in Rome at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni from 1932 to 1934. Opened by Mussolini on 28 October 1932, it had 4 million visitors....
.
In his last designs, Terragni achieved a more distinctive Mediterranean character through the fusion of modern theory and tradition.
Terragni died of tuberculosis in Como in 1943.