The Herald of a New World. Aldo Rossi and The Adventures of Pinocchio: An Architectural Theory

Abstract

In Quaderno azzurro 39, a note by Aldo Rossi on Pinocchio, a well-known character in Italian literature supports the hypothesis discussed here. Pinocchio, studied in depth through the reading of Collodi’s tale, emerges as an interpretative figure of space to explain the difference between two worlds, that of the fantastic and that of the concrete. Through his adventures, the puppet crosses places and landscapes, making mistakes, as in a renewed Scientific Autobiography, resolves the ambiguity between the worlds with the use of technology and progress. The reading made by Rossi, identifying book and project, highlights a full adherence to the Enlightenment, that moment in which the birth of a new world was verified through his writings rather than through his built work. It is Pinocchio, the Herald of a New World, the secret favorite figure to refound the discipline of architecture.

En Quaderno azzurro 39, una nota de Aldo Rossi sobre Pinocho, un conocido personaje de la literatura italiana apoya la hipótesis que aquí se expone. Pinocho, estudiado en profundidad a través de la lectura del cuento de Collodi, emerge como figura interpretativa del espacio para explicar la diferencia entre dos mundos, el de lo fantástico y el de lo concreto. A través de sus aventuras, el títere atraviesa lugares y paisajes, cometiendo errores, como en una renovada Autobiografía Científica, resuelve la ambigüedad entre los mundos con el uso de la tecnología y el progreso. La lectura que hace Rossi, identificando libro y proyecto, pone de relieve una adhesión plena a la Ilustración, ese momento en el que el nacimiento de un nuevo mundo se verificó a través de sus escritos más que de su obra construida. Es Pinocho, el Heraldo de un Nuevo Mundo, la figura secreta favorita para refundar la disciplina de la arquitectura.