The history of art and architecture are essential in the intellectual development and in the practise of architecture. The major aim of the course is to enable the student to make judgment, have an historical and bibliographic instruments to be able to analyse and understand movements, effects and protagonists (architects, artists, patrons, benefits, etc) of this fundamental period (first Dublin Descriptor). To achieve this aim it’s necessary to always use multiple approaches and different methods of analysis observing the Unity of History (second Dublin Descriptor).
Undergraduate shall be able to: use the acquired knowledge to make personal and mature judgements (third Dublin Descriptor); use the appropriate technical language (fourth Dublin Descriptor); establish logical connections between topics; read the complexity of architecture (fifth Dublin Descriptor).

The course will take place along an educational itinerary that allows the student to touch and dwell with a critical sense on the most significant moments in the history of Western architecture from its origins to contemporary trends. The program will address the following topics:

1. Introduction to the study of architectural history.

2. Ancient civilizations

3. Greek architecture

4. Roman architecture from the monarchical to the republican age

5. Roman architecture in the imperial age

6. Early Christian, Byzantine and early medieval architecture

7. Romanesque in Europe and Italy

8. Gothic in Europe and Italy

9. The return to antiquity in fifteenth-century Florence: Brunelleschi and Alberti

10. The diffusion of the Renaissance: Urbino (visit to Palazzo Ducale)

11. The diffusion of the Renaissance in the main Italian centres

12. The mature Renaissance: Bramante, Raphael and Peruzzi

13. Mannerism. Giulio Romano, Michelangelo, Sansovino, Palladio

14. Baroque in Rome: Bernini, Borromini and Pietro da Cortona

15. From Baroque to Rococo

16. Neoclassicism and revival styles

17. The European nineteenth century between eclecticism and engineering

18. The search for new forms: the Vienna Secession, Art Nouveau and Catalan Modernism

19. From the historical avant-garde to pro-rationalism

20. From Bauhaus to Modern Movement:

21. The Modern Movement: Le Corbusier, Van der Rohe, Wright, Aalto

22. Rationalism in Italy and the fascist architecture

23. The heredity of the Modern Movement: the changing languages (and materials) of architecture in the second half of the 20th century

24. New trends at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries

Oral examination, if necessary elementary sketch exemplifications, descriptions of photos or drawings of buildings, details, architectural sculptures, etc. The first set of questions tends to evaluate the basic knowledge of the program (first Dublin Descriptor) and basic ability to establish logical connections between topics (second Dublin Descriptor). The second set of questions checks strictly: the criticism (third Dublin Descriptor); the correct use of the appropriate language (fourth Dublin Descriptor); the ability to establish logical connections between topics and of reading the complexity of architecture (fifth Dublin Descriptor).

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

During the course there will be visits and monuments of Urbino useful for verifying the knowledge acquired.

Teaching

Classroom lessons will be held with the help of Power Point images, available, along with other supporting material, on the platform: moodle: www.blended.uniurb.it.

Attendance

In order to pass the exam, it is compulsory for each student to write a thesis (20 pages maximum; around 13,000-15,000 characters and with footnotes) concerning the historical-critical analysis of an architecture, the choice of which will be agreed upon with the teacher. The work must be submitted in pdf format at least 15 days before the exam.

Course books

The exam bibliography will indicate the parts of the manual to be studied (with reference to the topics covered in class) and will contain the complete list of in-depth readings.

As a reference manual for the entire course, we recommend the study of: G. Cricco, F. Di Teodoro, Itinerario nell'arte, Green Version, Zanichelli, Bologna, 3rd edition (with reference to the chapters that deal with the history of architecture from the early 15th century to the first decade of the 20th century). 

Useful consultation tools can be: Dizionario Enciclopedico di Architettura e di Urbanistica, edited by P. Portoghesi, Rome, Ist. Ed. Romano, 1969, 9 vols .; N. Pevsner, H. Honor, J. Fleming, Dizionario dell'architettura, Turin, Einaudi, 1981; La nomenclatura dell'architettura, Rosemberg and Sellier, 1993.

Assessment

Oral examination with discussion of images. The questions are designed to test both the student's learning of the contents and his or her ability to rework and argue. 

Excellent grades will be awarded for: the student's possession of good critical and in-depth study skills; the ability to link together the main themes addressed in the course; the use of appropriate language with respect to the specific nature of the discipline.

The following will result in fair grades: the student's possession of a mnemonic knowledge of the contents; a relative critical capacity and the ability to link the themes dealt with: the use of appropriate language.

Sufficient assessments will result in: the student's attainment of a minimal knowledge of the topics dealt with, despite the presence of some formative gaps; the use of inappropriate language.

Negative assessments will result in negative assessments: difficulty in the student's orientation in relation to the themes dealt with in the examination texts; gaps in training; use of inappropriate language.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Self-study

Attendance

In order to pass the exam, it is compulsory for each student to write a thesis (20 pages maximum; around 13,000-15,000 characters and with footnotes) concerning the historical-critical analysis of an architecture, the choice of which will be agreed upon with the teacher. The work must be submitted in pdf format at least 15 days before the exam.

Course books

The exam bibliography will indicate the parts of the manual to be studied (with reference to the topics covered in class) and will contain the complete list of in-depth readings.

As a reference manual for the entire course, we recommend the study of: G. Cricco, F. Di Teodoro, Itinerario nell'arte, Yellow Version, Zanichelli, Bologna, 3rd edition (with reference to the chapters that deal with the history of architecture from the early 15th century to the first decade of the 20th century). 

Useful consultation tools can also be: Dizionario Enciclopedico di Architettura e di Urbanistica, edited by P. Portoghesi, Rome, Ist. Ed. Romano, 1969, 9 vols .; N. Pevsner, H. Honor, J. Fleming, Dizionario dell'architettura, Turin, Einaudi, 1981; La nomenclatura dell'architettura, Rosemberg and Sellier, 1993.

Non-attending students are also required to study two texts chosen from those listed and belonging to two different historical periods.

- for ancient architecture

Corrado Bozzoni, Vittorio Franchetti Pardo, Giorgio Ortolani, Alessandro Viscogliosi,, L’architettura del mondo antico, Roma-Bari 2006 (Ed. Laterza)

Pierre Gros, L' architettura romana. Dagli inizi del III secolo a. C. alla fine dell'alto impero. I monumenti pubblici, Milano, Longanesi, 2001

Marie Christine Hellman, L’architecture grecque, 1. Les principes de la construction, Paris 2002 (Éd. Picard)

- for late antique, early Christian and Byzantine architecture

Richard Krautheimer, Architettura paleocristiana e bizantina, Torino, Einaudi, 1986 (ed. originale: Early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Harmondsworth, Penguin books, 1965)

Sergio Bettini, Lo spazio architettonico da Roma a Bisanzio, Bari, Dedalo, 1978, 1992

Eugenio Russo, L’architettura di Ravenna paleocristiana, Venezia, Istituto veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti, 2003

- for medieval architecture

Otto von Simson, La cattedrale gotica. Il concetto medievale di ordine, Bologna, Il mulino, 2013 (original edition: The Gothic Cathedral. Origins of Gothic Architecture and the Medieval Concept of Order, Princeton (N.J), Princeton University Press, 1956)

Claudio Tiberi, Culture e momenti d’architettura antichi e medievali, presentation of Piero Cimbolli Spagnesi, Milano, Jaca Book, 2011 (only the part concerning the Middle Ages)

Carlo Tosco, L’architettura medievale in Italia, 600-1200, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016

- for the architecture of the modern age

Rudolf Wittkower, Principi architettonici nell’età dell’Umanesimo, introduction of Richard Krautheimer, traduction di Renato Pedio, Torino, Einaudi, 1964, 2007, 7a edizione (ed. originale: Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism, The Warburg Institute, London, 1949)

Christof Thoenes, Sostegno e adornamento. Saggi sull’architettura del Rinascimento. Disegni, ordini, magnificenza, introduction of James S. Ackerman, Milano, Electa, 1998

Paolo Portoghesi, Roma barocca, Inventario degli architetti e delle loro opere di Stefania Tuzi, [Roma], Editori internazionali riuniti, 2011

- for contemporary architecture

Paolo Portoghesi, Dopo l’architettura moderna, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1980

Kenneth Frampton, Storia dell’architettura moderna, Bologna, Zanichelli, 1982, 2008, 4a edition (original ed. Modern architecture. A critical history, New York-Toronto, Oxford University Press, 1980)

Alessandra Muntoni, Lineamenti di storia dell’architettura contemporanea, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1997, 2013, 7th edition 

Assessment

Oral examination with discussion of images. The questions are designed to test both the student's learning of the contents and his or her ability to rework and argue. 

Excellent grades will be awarded for: the student's possession of good critical and in-depth study skills; the ability to link together the main themes addressed in the course; the use of appropriate language with respect to the specific nature of the discipline.

The following will result in fair grades: the student's possession of a mnemonic knowledge of the contents; a relative critical capacity and the ability to link the themes dealt with: the use of appropriate language.

Sufficient assessments will result in: the student's attainment of a minimal knowledge of the topics dealt with, despite the presence of some formative gaps; the use of inappropriate language.

Negative assessments will result in negative assessments: difficulty in the student's orientation in relation to the themes dealt with in the examination texts; gaps in training; use of inappropriate language.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.