Paolo Verzone (1902-1982) A Journey in Time and Space |
History of Architecture-2: Instruction
It seemed to me that when questioned with a spirit of love, those old stones often gave a very clear answer... (P. Verzone)
- April 6 1937: obtains a Lectureship in "History and Styles of Architecture" and teaches at the Faculty of Architecture of Torino Polytechnic. In 1938, the course was renamed "History of Art, and History and Styles of Architecture".
- In 1942, becomes Full Professor of "Stylistic and Constructive Elements of Monuments".
The two courses taught by at the Faculty of Architecture until 1972 were particularly close to his own journey in research. For example, the methodology applied to works on the Romanesque architecture around Novara and Vercelli paid great attention to the constructive, functional and structural problems of the buildings under study, to their planimetric and spatial organization, and to their ornamentation. This approach formed the premise and basis of the teaching program for history courses such as "History of Architecture" and technical-compositive courses such as "Stylistic and Constructive Elements".
Apart from his engineering education, the true passion of was the history of architecture, and his ‘favourite pastime’ was studying and teaching architecture, from ancient to modern through Medieval (the field he favoured most), Renaissance and Baroque, treating history as a "continuum" of obliged passages.
’s methodology for analysing architectural works, already optimal in his publications, also emerges clearly in the course of his university lessons, of which we have information since his preparatory notes and his students’ notebooks are available: the architectural object is viewed through its historical background and material-structural composition, and never separated from the geographical-territorial context.
The Professor now flanks the importance of direct surveying (an instrument capable of penetrating into the interior of an object and a vital part of restoration work) with that of graphic representation, an informative instrument which underscores dimensional and distributive relationships, technical solutions and ornamentation.
The professional and humane heredity that transmitted to his students is also manifest in the attention and care with which the latter preserved their notes with sketches, maps, sections, details of the buildings studied during lessons.. punched and held together with the "anti-recycling pin" in use at the time.
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Doctoral diploma in the field of History and Style in Architecture, 1937.
Torino Polytechnic Archive
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Class notes on History and Style in Architecture taken by Verzone's student, and later assistant, Enrica Fiandra, during the academic year 1948-49.
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List of publications submitted by Paolo Verzone when a candidate for an Ordinarius Professorship in the field of History and Style in Architecture.
Torino Polytechnic Archive
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Designs made by Laura Palnucci for classes in History and Style in Architecture for the academic year 1960-61.
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Designs made by Laura Palnucci for classes in History and Style in Architecture for the academic year 1960-61.
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