Giovannoni’s “diradamento” as a congruent transformation of urban continuity. Applications and limits of a philological device for core city regeneration

The text that is proposed for the conference will focus on the primary role played by Giovannoni in defining an original strategy for the protection and enhancement of ur- ban heritage in Italy in the early decades of the twentieth century. It is in the projects of the ten years of 1910 that he outlined the theory of thinning. This theory is offered as an alternative to the aesthetic and radical reclamation of the historic city, an urban policy still widespread in the early twentieth century. The discussion that will be developed is related to the possibility of interpreting today the “measured” and “scientific” cut of the building proposed by Giovannoni, as a way to follow for the regeneration of old centers. In this regard will be analyzed the plan for Rome, comparing it with other significant examples of this type of approach to urban restoration. from these examples will try, finally, to understand if rules can be drawn for the current planning aimed at sustainable urban regeneration of public spaces