L'urbanistica corporativa e i piani italiani per le città dell'Albania

Il contributo prende in esame alcuni piani per le città albanesi elaborati dopo l’occupazione militare italiana del 1939 nell’ambito dell’Ufficio Centrale per l’Edilizia e l’Urbanistica. Mentre i piani italiani (innanzitutto quello per Pavia) si confrontano con realtà urbane consolidate, i piani per le città albanesi vengono concepiti parallelamente a un piano di ricostruzione territoriale e infrastrutturale, configurando quello scenario coerente di sviluppo nazionale auspicato dai teorici dell’urbanistica corporativa. Alcuni esempi: Tirana viene completamente trasformata per assume il ruolo e il carattere di una città capitale; Durazzo, teatro di grandi bonifiche e imponenti opere marittime, diventa una moderna città-porto con una zona balneare; il piccolo porto di Santi Quaranta davanti all’isola di Corfù, ribattezzato Porto Edda (1940), viene prefigurato come una stazione turistica, la tappa ideale per visitare i siti archeologici di Fenice e Butrinto riportati alla luce dalla missione archeologica italiana. I piani per le città albanesi hanno in comune l’ingente quantità di indagini preliminari, sul territorio, le infrastrutture, il paesaggio, le attività agricole. La ‘romanità’, un tema ricorrente nell’Italia di quegli anni, viene interpretata in diverso modo, attraverso l’intreccio tra ricerca archeologica e ricostruzione retorica del passato. Il principale tratto comune tra le esperienze italiane e quelle albanesi è la ricerca di una tecnica relativa ai piani di sviluppo regionali, un tema che stava emergendo nel dibattito urbanistico internazionale dell’epoca. Il nostro contributo si conclude mettendo a confronto i piani con le strutture urbane attuali delle relative città

Imagination, design, technique: three European projects for Abu Simbel

Figure 1: Great Temple of Abu Simbel, preliminary design (1960), Italconsult, Impresit & Lodigiani, cont.: Sketch of facade rock fissures Source: Enrico Lodigiani private archives, Milan March 1813. On his way back from a journey in Nubia, John Lewis Burckhardt noted four statues emerging from the sand: “They do not front the river […] but are turned with their faces due north, towards the most fertile climes of Egypt […]. On the rock wall, in the center of the four statues, is the figure of..

Imagination, conception, technique : trois projets européens pour Abou Simbel

Figure 1 : Grand temple d’Abou Simbel, études préliminaires (1960), Italconsult, Impresit et Lodigiani, entr. : relevé des fissures du rocher sur la façade Source : Archives privées de l’ingénieur Enrico Lodigiani, Milan Mars 1813. Rentrant de Nubie, Johann-Ludwig Burckhardt apercevait, affleurant le sable, quatre statues « tournées vers le nord, vers la zone la plus fertile de l’Égypte […]. Sur la paroi rocheuse, au centre des quatre statues, se trouve la figure d’Osiris à tête de faucon, s..

Construire au-delà de la Méditerranée

Suez, Abou Simbel, Le Caire, Alger, Casablanca, Istanbul... Pour la première fois, des historiens de l'architecture et des conservateurs d'archives nous permettent d'accéder à un patrimoine culturel européen exceptionnel et méconnu : les archives produites par les entreprises du bâtiment et des travaux publics actives au sud de la Méditerranée, entre 1860 et 1970. Ouvrages d'art en acier ou béton armé, cités pour ouvriers et cadres expatriés, bâtiments publics mais aussi mobilier, décors, ouvrages effectués par des artisans d'art... Toutes ces réalisations témoignent d'une époque d'intenses échanges humains, techniques, et artistiques entre l'Europe et l'arc sud-est de la Méditerranée. Photographies anciennes destinées à promouvoir le travail des entrepreneurs, photographies de chantier, dessins d'architectes, croquis et carnets documentant les innovations techniques, plaquettes publicitaires... le livre est illustré par plus de 200 dessins et photographies provenant directement des fonds d'archives des constructeurs. Cet ouvrage est le résultat du projet de coopération transnationale "ARCHING : ARchives d'INGénierie européenne" (2010-2012) conduit dans le cadre du programme Culture 2007-2013 de la Commission européenne, auquel ont participé cinq institutions : l'Ecomusée du Bois-du-Luc (Belgique), la Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine (France), InVisu (CNRS-INHA) (France), le Dipartimento di Architettura disegno-storia-progetto de l'université de Florence (Italie), Archmuseum (Turquie).Suez, Abu Simbel, Cairo, Algiers, Casablanca, Istanbul... This work of pioneering research by architectural historians and archivists gives us access to an exceptional field of European cultural heritage: the records of buildings and public works contractors active on the southern shores of the Mediterranean between 1860 and 1970. It covers all the construction trades, from steel or reinforced concrete bridges and dams, housing for laborers and expats, and public buildings, but also furniture, decoration, and studio crafts. All of these projects attest to the intensity of the human, technical, and artistic exchanges occurring in this period between Europe and the south-eastern Mediterranean rim. This book is illustrated with over 200 rare drawings and photographs drawn directly from the builders'archives, including old photos intended to promote the contractor's business, construction site photos, architects' plans, sketches, and notes documenting technical innovations, and vintage advertising brochures, etc. This book is the product of the transnational cooperation project "ARCHING: ARChives d'INGénierie européennes" (2010-2012) carried out as part of the European Commission Culture Programme 2007-2013, in conjunction with five institutions: the Ecomusée du Bois-du-Luc (Belgium), the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine (France), InVisu (CNRS-INHA) (France), the Dipartimento di Architettura disegno-storia-progetto of the University of Florence (Italy) and the Archmuseum (Turkey)

Building Beyond The Mediterranean

Suez, Abu Simbel, Cairo, Algiers, Casablanca, Istanbul... This work of pioneering research by architectural historians and archivists gives us access to an exceptional field of European cultural heritage: the records of buildings and public works contractors active on the southern shores of the Mediterranean between 1860 and 1970. It covers all the construction trades, from steel or reinforced concrete bridges and dams, housing for laborers and expats, and public buildings, but also furniture, decoration, and studio crafts. All of these projects attest to the intensity of the human, technical, and artistic exchanges occurring in this period between Europe and the south-eastern Mediterranean rim. This book is illustrated with over 200 rare drawings and photographs drawn directly from the builders'archives, including old photos intended to promote the contractor's business, construction site photos, architects' plans, sketches, and notes documenting technical innovations, and vintage advertising brochures, etc. This book is the product of the transnational cooperation project "ARCHING: ARChives d'INGénierie européennes" (2010-2012) carried out as part of the European Commission Culture Programme 2007-2013, in conjunction with five institutions: the Ecomusée du Bois-du-Luc (Belgium), the Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine (France), InVisu (CNRS-INHA) (France), the Dipartimento di Architettura disegno-storia-progetto of the University of Florence (Italy) and the Archmuseum (Turkey).Suez, Abou Simbel, Le Caire, Alger, Casablanca, Istanbul... Pour la première fois, des historiens de l'architecture et des conservateurs d'archives nous permettent d'accéder à un patrimoine culturel européen exceptionnel et méconnu : les archives produites par les entreprises du bâtiment et des travaux publics actives au sud de la Méditerranée, entre 1860 et 1970. Ouvrages d'art en acier ou béton armé, cités pour ouvriers et cadres expatriés, bâtiments publics mais aussi mobilier, décors, ouvrages effectués par des artisans d'art... Toutes ces réalisations témoignent d'une époque d'intenses échanges humains, techniques, et artistiques entre l'Europe et l'arc sud-est de la Méditerranée. Photographies anciennes destinées à promouvoir le travail des entrepreneurs, photographies de chantier, dessins d'architectes, croquis et carnets documentant les innovations techniques, plaquettes publicitaires... le livre est illustré par plus de 200 dessins et photographies provenant directement des fonds d'archives des constructeurs. Cet ouvrage est le résultat du projet de coopération transnationale "ARCHING : ARchives d'INGénierie européenne" (2010-2012) conduit dans le cadre du programme Culture 2007-2013 de la Commission européenne, auquel ont participé cinq institutions : l'Ecomusée du Bois-du-Luc (Belgique), la Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine (France), InVisu (CNRS-INHA) (France), le Dipartimento di Architettura disegno-storia-progetto de l'université de Florence (Italie), Archmuseum (Turquie)

The “Diabetes Comorbidome”: A Different Way for Health Professionals to Approach the Comorbidity Burden of Diabetes

(1) Background: The disease burden related to diabetes is increasing greatly, particularly in older subjects. A more comprehensive approach towards the assessment and management of diabetes’ comorbidities is necessary. The aim of this study was to implement our previous data identifying and representing the prevalence of the comorbidities, their association with mortality, and the strength of their relationship in hospitalized elderly patients with diabetes, developing, at the same time, a new graphic representation model of the comorbidome called “Diabetes Comorbidome”. (2) Methods: Data were collected from the RePoSi register. Comorbidities, socio-demographic data, severity and comorbidity indexes (Cumulative Illness rating Scale CIRS-SI and CIRS-CI), and functional status (Barthel Index), were recorded. Mortality rates were assessed in hospital and 3 and 12 months after discharge. (3) Results: Of the 4714 hospitalized elderly patients, 1378 had diabetes. The comorbidities distribution showed that arterial hypertension (57.1%), ischemic heart disease (31.4%), chronic renal failure (28.8%), atrial fibrillation (25.6%), and COPD (22.7%), were the more frequent in subjects with diabetes. The graphic comorbidome showed that the strongest predictors of death at in hospital and at the 3-month follow-up were dementia and cancer. At the 1-year follow-up, cancer was the first comorbidity independently associated with mortality. (4) Conclusions: The “Diabetes Comorbidome” represents the perfect instrument for determining the prevalence of comorbidities and the strength of their relationship with risk of death, as well as the need for an effective treatment for improving clinical outcomes

Antidiabetic Drug Prescription Pattern in Hospitalized Older Patients with Diabetes

Objective: To describe the prescription pattern of antidiabetic and cardiovascular drugs in a cohort of hospitalized older patients with diabetes. Methods: Patients with diabetes aged 65 years or older hospitalized in internal medicine and/or geriatric wards throughout Italy and enrolled in the REPOSI (REgistro POliterapuie SIMI—Società Italiana di Medicina Interna) registry from 2010 to 2019 and discharged alive were included. Results: Among 1703 patients with diabetes, 1433 (84.2%) were on treatment with at least one antidiabetic drug at hospital admission, mainly prescribed as monotherapy with insulin (28.3%) or metformin (19.2%). The proportion of treated patients decreased at discharge (N = 1309, 76.9%), with a significant reduction over time. Among those prescribed, the proportion of those with insulin alone increased over time (p = 0.0066), while the proportion of those prescribed sulfonylureas decreased (p < 0.0001). Among patients receiving antidiabetic therapy at discharge, 1063 (81.2%) were also prescribed cardiovascular drugs, mainly with an antihypertensive drug alone or in combination (N = 777, 73.1%). Conclusion: The management of older patients with diabetes in a hospital setting is often sub-optimal, as shown by the increasing trend in insulin at discharge, even if an overall improvement has been highlighted by the prevalent decrease in sulfonylureas prescription

Beta-Blocker Use in Older Hospitalized Patients Affected by Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Italian Survey From the REPOSI Register

Beta (β)-blockers (BB) are useful in reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) and concomitant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nevertheless, the use of BBs could induce bronchoconstriction due to β2-blockade. For this reason, both the ESC and GOLD guidelines strongly suggest the use of selective β1-BB in patients with HF and COPD. However, low adherence to guidelines was observed in multiple clinical settings. The aim of the study was to investigate the BBs use in older patients affected by HF and COPD, recorded in the REPOSI register. Of 942 patients affected by HF, 47.1% were treated with BBs. The use of BBs was significantly lower in patients with HF and COPD than in patients affected by HF alone, both at admission and at discharge (admission, 36.9% vs. 51.3%; discharge, 38.0% vs. 51.7%). In addition, no further BB users were found at discharge. The probability to being treated with a BB was significantly lower in patients with HF also affected by COPD (adj. OR, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.37-0.67), while the diagnosis of COPD was not associated with the choice of selective β1-BB (adj. OR, 95% CI: 1.33, 0.76-2.34). Despite clear recommendations by clinical guidelines, a significant underuse of BBs was also observed after hospital discharge. In COPD affected patients, physicians unreasonably reject BBs use, rather than choosing a β1-BB. The expected improvement of the BB prescriptions after hospitalization was not observed. A multidisciplinary approach among hospital physicians, general practitioners, and pharmacologists should be carried out for better drug management and adherence to guideline recommendations

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population