The Cathedral designed in 1943 by Giuseppe Terragni. Studies and reconstruction

Written with Gaetano De Francesco In the last years a renewed interest emerged regarding the last few months in the life of the Italian architect Giuseppe Terragni and a project that has been considered – ever since it was first published in 1968 – as his last: ‘Cathedral 1943’. Based on the first unpublished reconstruction of the project, performed in the year marking the 100th anniversary of Terragni’s birth, this contribution presents new three-dimensional reconstructions of this captivating, dramatic, and difficult design. The research also focuses on representation to try and capture the underlying spirituality of Terragni’s project rather than create a hyperrealistic effect. It also illustrates the process used to construct the model which, due to its linearity, can assist in the reconstruction of important unbuilt projects – an activity which for many years has been undertaken in the field of representation. The results of the study very clearly show the importance of Giuseppe Terragni’s last project.