Architetture di Carlo Rainaldi nel quarto centenario della nascita

ABSTRACT INGLESE This contribution presents a critical analysis of a diverse series of themes highlighting the complex design methodology employed by the architect, Carlo Rainaldi, drawn from Renaissance through to late Baroque models. The research developed via a study of the critical historical literature on the architect and also by means of an analysis of the large and varied body of religious design projects which were commissioned from Rainaldi, including churches and church facades, chapels and altars, taking account of works actually constructed, as well as those projected, but never built, and even those which were eventually demolished. The themes addressed are as follows: experimentation by the architect of the oval ground plan, his complex articulation of church facades, the significance of the plasticity of free-standing columns in his designs, and also the complicated forms of the minor architectural models he designed. A complete formal, architectural and spatial analysis of the works under consideration is undertaken. Thanks to the realisation of three-dimensional models which were designed specifically for this research project, it has also been possible to attempt a critical analysis of Rainaldi’s architectural designs which were never realised. These models, together with the architect’s still-extant buildings, finally allow for an appreciation of the important design capabilities of Rainaldi. Dedicated to Carlo Rainaldi, the present volume, edited by Gangemi Editore, represents the first phase of a research grant funded by the Ateneo Sapienza di Roma.

Il volume, esito della ricerca di Ateneo 2010 guidata dalla sottoscritta, per i tipi di Gangemi Editore si struttura come segue: un contributo sulla figura artistica (a carattere biografico) dell’architetto, costituisce una puntuale ricognizione sul maestro barocco, includendo la segnalazione dello stato dell’arte ad oggi sull’architetto. Sono presenti approfondimenti puntuali relativi: - al tempo della sua formazione, - alla sua attività professionale anche inedita, riferibile a cariche ricoperte per lunghi anni; - alle architetture realizzate da Carlo Rainaldi durante la maturità ed a tematiche critiche presenti nella sua produzione architettonica sia essa realizzata, che solamente progettata. Nel volume confluiscono le ricognizioni archivistico-documentarie di studiosi, italiani e stranieri, che hanno attivamente partecipato alla ricerca, elaborando ciascuno il proprio contributo. Sono inclusi altresì gli esiti di modellazioni tridimensionali di progetti dell'architetto per opere mai realizzate, che mettono in evidenza spazialità non costruite, ma altresì significative e importanti per la valutazione critica della personalità del maestro barocco. ABSTRACT INGLESE This contribution presents a critical analysis of a diverse series of themes highlighting the complex design methodology employed by the architect, Carlo Rainaldi, drawn from Renaissance through to late Baroque models. The research developed via a study of the critical historical literature on the architect and also by means of an analysis of the large and varied body of religious design projects which were commissioned from Rainaldi, including churches and church facades, chapels and altars, taking account of works actually constructed, as well as those projected, but never built, and even those which were eventually demolished. The themes addressed are as follows: experimentation by the architect of the oval ground plan, his complex articulation of church facades, the significance of the plasticity of free-standing columns in his designs, and also the complicated forms of the minor architectural models he designed. A complete formal, architectural and spatial analysis of the works under consideration is undertaken. Thanks to the realisation of three-dimensional models which were designed specifically for this research project, it has also been possible to attempt a critical analysis of Rainaldi’s architectural designs which were never realised. These models, together with the architect’s still-extant buildings, finally allow for an appreciation of the important design capabilities of Rainaldi. Dedicated to Carlo Rainaldi, the present volume, edited by Gangemi Editore, represents the first phase of a research grant funded by the Ateneo Sapienza di Roma.