Between Survey and Interpretation. The Ideal Shape of Flavian Amphitheater According to Carlo Lucangeli

Physical models have always been the most exhaustive and suggestive documents to transmit and understand the morphological characteristics of an architectural subject and reveal their state of knowledge in a given period. The two main models that Carlo Lucangeli, architect and cabinetmaker who lived between the 18th and 19th centuries, dedicates to the Flavian Amphitheater are among the most important in the history of the monument representation, since one - made of cork - records its appearance in a specific epoch, the other - made of wood - is an interesting reconstructive hypothesis of the ideal state. In particular, this second model, realized in the space of 22 years, is striking for the scientificity with which it communicates the characteristics of the subject, distinguishing itself from the modeling tradition of that time: in fact, he decompose the model not only to facilitate its assembly and disassembly, but also to communicate the structural, functional and aesthetic characteristics of the monument by proposing a clear and original reading. This study first analyzes the communicative capacity of the model, as a three-dimensional technical drawing, and produces original observations on what the model reproduces by direct knowledge, and what is instead the result of interpretation, in relation to the critical tradition on the subject, retrace the famous testimonies of Carlo Fontana and Antoine Desgodets.