EXHIBITION THE BOOKS THAT MADE THE EUROPE ROME, 2016 PROJECT BOOK Architects in charge: Fabrizio Furiassi, Susanna Nobili, Allegra Albani Collaborators: Nicolò Sabattini Photography: Op-Fot / Nicola Nunziata, Tommaso Tanini
COMMISSION Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei Palazzo Corsini Built
The Books that made the Europe Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, Italy Project book
The Project
of European culture.
In these times of enormous contradictions, featuring the economic crisis, political instability, wars and mass migration, Europe is required to make a deep analysis of its own cultural identity. Isolationist visions of Europe clash with a wider, more open view.
The Palazzo Corsini in Rome, venue of the Accademia dei Lincei, has been selected to host the event that aims to represent materially the common historic-cultural background at the base of Western European culture. The exhibition shows 186 manuscripts and printed books on display in 19 thematic sections. The books are datable between IX and XV centuries and come from the collections of the most important historical libraries in Rome: Biblioteca Angelica, Biblioteca Casanatese, Biblioteca Nazionale, Biblioteca Vallicelliana, and from Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. Out of the 186 manuscripts and printed books, 124 are in display cases, while the remaining 62 are photographic reproductions, printed on panels. These panels contain explanations with references to the
The complexity of European culture, with its multi-faceted nature, is visible in the extraordinary plurality of cultures and books in which it has been handed down. In these regards, the exhibition "The Books that made the Europe" is a journey through the manuscripts that represent the pathway from classical-Christian and medieval-Latin literature to the modern culture. A collection of books to illustrate the great traditions that have contributed to the formation 1
materials on display and quotations from the most important works. In response to the need of the exhibition, we designed a structure that is immaterial in its figuration but vigorous in its performance: a modern treillage, thin and transparent, that becomes the infrastructure guiding the visitors through rooms and items, within the magnificence of the painted roofs and the parietal bookcases of the palace. The structure acts as an elements of support for information materials -audio, video and graphicsgenerating new rooms in the rooms defining a new circulation. This architecture is not only a sign in the space, but also a device that brings lights to the display cases through hand crafted lamps.
The old palace and its monumental presence is considered as a tool to create a calm environment for the exhibition, introducing a silent element that plays with the space with apparent simplicity. The structure disappears through the rooms unifying past and present in a new poetic environment by using the most basic geometric configurations. We challenged common construction materials, satisfying task and budget while producing unconventional spaces: rooms in the rooms that are simultaneously delicate and powerful, fluid and ingenious. An ephemeral architecture that respects the primacy of the site and the legacy of its architectural history. 2
Room 2
The books that made the Europe Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, Italy General Plan
2nd Floor
ROOM 4
ROOM 3
ROOM 2
ROOM 1
VIDEO ROOM
ROOM 5 ENTRANCE
ROOM 6
ROOM 7
ROOM 8
Guide to the exhibition
The exhibition is organized in 5 macro-areas, divided in 19 thematic sections, numbered progressively.
The Classical-Christian tradition I. Trivium II. Quadrivium III. Bible IV. Auctores V. Founding Fathers
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Towards the new European culture VI. Enciclopedias VII. Scientific Treatises
The new European culture
VIII. Law IX. Aristotelism X. Hagiography and didactic Literature XI. Historiography XII. Epic Poetry XIII.Romance XIV. Lyric Poetry XV. Laudary and Mistery plays
The first canon XVI. Dante XVII. Petrarca XVIII. Boccaccio
Towards modernity
XIX. Towards modernity
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The books that made the Europe Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, Italy General Axonometry
Palazzo Corsini Via della Lungara 10 Rome, Italy 2nd floor
VIDEO ROOM
ENTRANCE
ROOM 1
ROOM 2
VIDEO ROOM Projection of a documentary The Classical-Christian tradition ROOM 1 I. Trivium II. Quadrivium III. Bible IV. Auctores V. Founding Fathers
ROOM 3
ROOM 4
Towards the new European culture ROOM 1 VI. Enciclopedias VII. Scientific Treatises The new European culture ROOM 2 VIII. Law IX. Aristotelism
ROOM 5
ROOM 3 X. Hagiography and didactic Literature XI. Historiography ROOM 4 XII. Epic Poetry XIII.Romance
ROOM 6
ROOM 5 XIV. Lyric Poetry XV. Laudary and Mistery plays
ROOM 7
ROOM 8
The first canon ROOM 6 XVI. Dante ROOM 7 XVII. Petrarca XVIII. Boccaccio
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Towards modernity ROOM 8 XIX. Towards modernity
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The books that made the Europe Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, Italy Plans / Room 3 - Room 5
Room 3
Room 5
Structure Electric wire Projections Furniture
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Room 6
Room 1
The books that made the Europe Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, Italy Axonometry of the structure - sample
The Palazzo Corsini is a prominent late-baroque palace in Rome, erected for the Corsini family between 1730–1740 as an elaboration of the prior building on the site, a 15th-century villa of the Riario family, based on designs of Ferdinando Fuga. In 1736, the Florentine Cardinal Neri Maria Corsini, nephew of Pope Clement XII (formerly Cardinal Lorenzo Corsini), acquired the villa and land, and commissioned the structure now standing. The rooms of the Library belong to the ancient period of the building and they are built as a sequence of aligned spaces, characterized by wonderful painted roofs, ancient parietal bookcases, and wooden floors. The structures designed for these rooms follow the rhythm of the opening doors, the heights if the interiors by stopping at the same height of the balconies, stretching the passages and defining a new circulation.
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Room 6 16
Room 1
Room 5
Showcase 21
Lighting 22
The books that made the Europe Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Rome, Italy Details / Exploded axonometry
Cross node
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L node
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1 - T-beam 40x40 mm 2 - Shaped T-beam 40x40mm 3 - Pilar 40x40 mm 4 - Cross shaped plate - thk 10 mm 5 - Corner shaped plate - thk 10 mm 6 - T-shaped plate - thk 10 mm 7 - Standard plate - thk 10 mm 8 - T pilar 40x40 mm 9 - Shaped T pilar 40x40 mm
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