Representing Cantàfora’s Visions of the City

Perspective in the contemporary context of architectural representation as a tool for communicating three-dimensional spaces on a two-dimensional surface, the article examines the vision of the contemporary city by one of the protagonists of the architectural debate in the second half of the twentieth century: Arduino Cantàfora. Architect, painter, and writer, Cantàfora devoted a significant part of his work to the theme of the city, through writings and paintings that convey his personal experiences in an almost metaphysical atmosphere. His cities derive from repeated collage operations that combine urban fragments, memories, and suggestions, articulating his vision of the contemporary city in different dimensions: existing, potential, and ideal. Given the current emphasis on the development of virtual worlds, there is a significant technical and cultural opportunity to digitally explore the dreamlike scenarios depicted in Cantàfora’s paintings. In line with these considerations, the article presents a virtualization of one of the architect’s most iconic paintings: the Città Analoga. The central aim is to employ digital tools to explore Arduino Cantàfora’s artistic work through an architectural lens, with a specific focus on analyzing the real and ideal projects envisioned by the artist within his diverse artistic production.