FORTHCOMING
Available June 2024

Writings by Gustavo Giovannoni on Architectural and Urban Conservation

Gustavo Giovannoni

Edited by Steven W. Semes, FrancescoSiravo, and Jeff Cody; translated by Steven W. Semes

The Italian architect, historian, and restorer GustavoGiovannoni (1873–1947) was akey figure in the fields of architecture, urbanism, and conservation during the first half of the twentieth century. A traditionalist largely neglected by the proponents of modernist architecture following World War II, he remains little known internationally. His writings, however, until now unavailable in English, represent a significant step toward the full appreciation of the historic city, and his insights are directly relevant today to the protection of historic resources in urban contexts worldwide.

This abundantly illustrated critical anthology is a representative sample of Giovannoni’sseminal texts related to the appreciation, understanding, and planning of historic cities. The thirty readings, which appear with their original illustrations, are grouped thematically into six parts organized around key concepts in Giovannoni’s conservation theory—urban building, respect for the setting or context, a thinning out of the urban fabric, conservation and restoration treatments, the grafting of the new upon the old, and reconstruction. Each part is preceded by an introduction, and each individual reading is prefaced by succinct remarks explaining the rationale for its selection and the principal matters covered. Six plate sections further illustrate the readings’ main concepts and themes.

Steven W. Semes, a practicing architect, is professor at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture and director of its graduate program in historic preservation. Francesco Siravo is an Italian architect specializing in town planning and historic preservation. Jeff Cody is an architectural historian with a background in historic preservation planning. He was a senior project specialist at the Getty Conservation Institute from 2004 to 2022.

336 pages
7 × 10 inches
80 color and 75 b/w illustrations
ISBN 978-1-60606-875-5
paperback

Getty Publications
Imprint: Getty Conservation Institute