Portolago, Leros, Dodecanese, Greece

Historical, political or economic context in which the plan/project is proposed

Portolago is designed during the same period Sabaudia was planned in mainland Italy. Is part of the New Towns’ and small settlements’ program -- città di nuova fondazione -- of the fascist regime. Portolago, together with Guidonia (in mainland Italy), are towns built not for productive purposes but for the benefit, respectively, of air force and navy officials and of their families. Considered, by contemporary sources, as the biggest realization of a “rationalist city”; rediscovered in 1983 by Antonis Antoniadis; subject to a dubious restoration project in 2013; still attends to be studied from an urban design point of view.

Bibliography

Antoniadis, A. “I Architectoniki ton Italon sta Dodecanisa.” O Dromos 17, no. 18 (1983): 20-33.

Antoniadis, A. “Italian Architecture in the Dodecanese: A preliminary Assessment.” Journal of Architectural Education 38, no. 1 (1984): 18-25.

Pitsinos, N. “Architettura e urbanistica nel Dodecaneso italiano.” In La presenza italiana nel Dodecaneso tra il 1912 e il 1948. La ricerca archeologica. La conservazione. Le scelte progettuali, edited by M. Livadiotti and G. Rocco, 285-364. Catania: Edizioni del Prisma, 1996.

Martinoli, S., and E. Perotti (Eds.). Architettura coloniale italiana nel Dodecaneso 1912-1943. Torino: Fondazione G. Agnelli, 1999.