Palazzo della Loggia According to Luigi Vanvitelli. A Digital Reconstruction

This paper aims to describe the process of 3D Reconstruction of Luigi Vanvitelli’s (Naples, 1700 – Caserta, 1773) second design for the Great Hall of the Palazzo della Loggia in Brescia, and the drawing analysis that it entailed. In 1575, the 16th-century Loggia was consumed by a fire that devastated first floor interior and roof, but left the lower floor and the exterior largely unscathed. The roof was hastily repaired, the still-serviceable areas sectioned off, and the building languished in this precarious state for nearly two centuries. Eventually, local authorities commissioned its restoration (1764). Due to the monument’s significance, Vanvitelli needed to utilize the pre-existing structure, damaged though it may be. These constraints resulted in two designs, drafted between 1769 and 1771, which displayed the same radial distribution but differed in the shape of the plan (circular and octagonal, respectively). Construction of the 1771 design began after Vanvitelli’s death, and only reached the entablature before halting indefinitely. This paper aims to describe the challenges and questions posed by the process of 3D reconstruction of Luigi Vanvitelli’s second design for the Great Hall (Salone) of the Palazzo della Loggia in Brescia, particularly with regards to the articulation of the vault. The reconstructions are based on two series of drawings in the hand of Vanvitelli and Piermarini, presently hosted at the Archivio di Stato di Brescia, occasionally interpolated with the information that can be gleaned from Baldassarre Zambone’s engravings (1778). Three potential geometric interpretations, which the present paper seeks to explore, were identified by analyzing the area of the vault, first through the lens of “necessary” (brought about by the transition from circle to octagon) versus unforced changes, and then in light of the discrepancies found both within and among the drawings.