Reviving drawing education: training modules from the historical archive of the DSDRA, Sapienza University

This paper presents a case study within a wider research project on the drawing archive of the Department of History, Drawing and Restoration of Architecture (DSDRA) at Sapienza University of Rome, which preserves student works from the 1930s to today. The focus is on drawings from the course of Professor Angelo Marinucci, who taught architectural drawing between 1948 and 1959. Produced mainly in pencil and depicting Roman architecture—porticoes, fountains, façades—these perspective sketches combine individual skill with Marinucci’s pedagogical rigor. Their tonal shading, calligraphic precision, and attention to the conservation of monuments reflect his dual role as both researcher and teacher, emphasizing descriptive geometry and the theory of shadows. The works reveal not only aesthetic beauty but also structural clarity, material qualities, and cultural values tied to Rome’s identity. Marinucci’s method privileged direct, intuitive engagement with the city through drawing. The research aims to valorize this didactic heritage by critically analyzing archival materials and developing modular training tools. Historic courses have been virtually reconstructed by reassembling student exercises, theses, exam records, and models into narrative frameworks enriched with syllabi, writings, and additional content. These resources are integrated into a digital platform featuring interactive modules, videos, and links, allowing exploration of the archive and recovery of pedagogical memory. The case study illustrates how historical archives can serve as dynamic educational laboratories, merging memory and innovation. It proposes a replicable model for other institutions, showing how pedagogical heritage can inspire both academic research and contemporary teaching.