L’architetto integrale and Gustavo Giovannoni’s role in education and cultural dissemination

Abstract

The engineer Gustavo Giovannoni made a decisive contribution to the development of a new professional figure: l’architetto integrale, best described as the all encompassing architect. Under this broad indicative title he envisioned a variety of operational skills that combine the roles of architect, urban planner, historian and restorer. In the context of these multifaceted interests, the essay investigates the centrality of scientific dissemination for Giovannoni. For the sake of accuracy, the term cultural dissemination should be used, as it better conveys the idea of a 360-degree educational project designed for both learned audiences (with a solid scientific background) and non-specialists generally interested in Italian architectural culture, planning history and landscape.

Giovannoni’s careful targeting of different audiences is discernable in periodicals and other media chosen to transmit his ideas, from scientific journals to newspapers and national radio programmes. The present essay seeks to investigate the relationship Giovannoni had with the media and his participation in the amateur activities of various cultural and sporting associations, directed towards increasing awareness of Italy’s historical cities and the territory’s natural beauty.