A “medieval shaped castle”. Neo-medieval restorations of the purist architect, Giovanni Partini from Siena

A study of the restoration of the castle of Torre Alfina, in northern Lazio, is the occasion to propose a wider reflection on the “invention” of the medieval past by nineteenth century architects, under the influence of Viollet-le-Duc’s theories. The essay is divided into two parts: the former deals with the general interest of neo-medieval architects in the restoration of medieval castles. The castle typology is particularly suitable to that kind of operation where historical reconstruction and fantasy are mixed together, as clearly seen in the experience of Viollet-le-Duc in Pierrefonds, but also in Alfredo D’Andrade’s work in the park of the Valentino, in Turin. The latter part of the essay concerns the restoration of the “medieval shape” of the castle of Torre Alfina and the important role played by the architect, Giuseppe Partini, a protagonist of Purism in Siena, who considered neo-medievalism both as a sublimation of Gothic architecture, and as the highest expression of creativity. The project of Torre Alfina was realized by Partini with the help of a team of craftsmen who translated Partini’s theoretical issues on neo-medievalism and interpretation/re-creation of the past into practical results

Mura violate: la distruzione dei circuiti fortificati nelle città italiane fra XIX e XX secolo. Usurped walls: the destruction of the fortified circuits in Italian cities, between the 19th and 20th centuries

Nel corso del XVIII e maggiormente nel XIX secolo e nella prima metà del secolo successivo, larghi tratti delle mura di fortificazione vengono modificati o abbattuti, lasciando come segno tangibile della memoria solo alcuni frammenti significativi. Tali interventi sono legati a varie esigenze: nella fase di maggior distruzione delle mura urbane, le motivazioni sono connesse al miglioramento della circolazione urbana e alla creazione di nuove aree per i quartieri di espansione. Per molti centri, i documenti d’archivio e le immagini storiche consentono di verificare le modalità di attuazione del rapido processo di trasformazione. Fra gli esempi, è approfondito quello della città di Senigallia, nelle Marche. La città, nonostante le trasformazioni subite negli ultimi due secoli e i pesanti danni arrecati dal terremoto del 1930, conserva l’impronta delle fortificazioni cinque-settecentesche, seppure ampiamente modificate, distrutte per larghi tratti o inglobate nelle nuove costruzioni.During eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century, large sections of the defensive walls were modified or demolished, leaving only some significant fragments of the walls as a tangible sign of memory. These interventions are linked to various needs: in the phase of greatest destruction of the urban walls, the motivations are connected to the improvement of urban circulation and the creation of new areas for the expansion neighborhoods. For many centers, the archival documents and the historical images allow to verify the methods of the rapid transformation process. In particular, Senigallia, in the Marche region has been investigated. This city, despite the transformations of the last two centuries and the heavy damage by the 1930 earthquake, retains the imprint of the sixteenth-eighteenth century fortifications, that have been extensively modified, destroyed in large sections or incorporated in new constructions