Skip to main content

Most Recent

The Beastliness of Things

When the world feels like it’s descending into madness, I find myself looking to Virginia Woolf’s sensitivity and Plato’s ancient warnings. We are living through the return of pleonexia—the tyranny of unchecked desire. I cannot help but feel shocked by what we have become. At times, this unease reaches such an intensity that humanity itself begins to frighten me. In these moments, Virginia Woolf inevitably comes to mind. She was "undoubtedly much more sensitive than most people to the general beastliness of things happening in the world to-day," as described in a letter to The Sunday Times by Mrs Kathleen Hicks. Woolf had just taken her own life, unable to bear the "dreadful time" and the looming threat of a Nazi invasion any longer. Even the iconic slogan of the era, "Keep Calm and Carry On" (the image from the web is the 1939 original poster) , offered no comfort to a soul so much sinking into the world's darkness.  My mind then shifts to...
Post a Comment
Read more
Labels

The Metaphisical Town

 

Tresigallo, near Ferrara, in Emilia Romagna region, is known as "La Città Metafisica" (The Metaphysical City) due to its unique architecture, which was designed in the 1930s under the fascist regime to create an ideal rationalist city. I fell totally in love with this place! 

The town features a grid-like layout with clean lines, geometric shapes, and pastel-colored buildings, giving it an orderly and somewhat surreal atmosphere that has been likened to a "metaphysical" painting. This transformation was financed by Edmondo Rossoni, a native of the town and then Minister of Agriculture, to counter rural depopulation and create a modern urban center. 

The town is a prime example of Italian Rationalist architecture, characterized by its simplicity, emphasis on geometric forms, and functionality. It was planned with a symmetrical and orderly layout, with one axis for spirituality (church, youth center) and another for daily life (civic center).

The project began in the 1930s. Its metaphisical concept comes from the town's striking, almost otherworldly appearance, which is often compared to the paintings of artist Giorgio de Chirico, known for their enigmatic and geometric qualities.

Clearly, Tresigallo is a unique destination for architecture enthusiasts! Besides, its distinctive style has made it a popular location for films and photo shoots. 

[From this article] 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts