Abstract
The theme of hypogean architecture refers in itself to instances relegated both to simplicity and to complexity, unraveling in that complex relationship between inside and outside that becomes the characterizing expression of the typical articulation of the composition in negative, a composition that expresses the close link between architecture and landscape, between man and ground. The contribution intends to investigate, through the tools of survey and representation, the dichotomy between an apparent simplicity and an effective complexity of the hypogean architectural forms. A formal and linguistic heterogeneity that often reveals itself in overlap** and contrasting languages and forms typical of the sub divo architecture imitated by the hypogean architecture. With reference to the themes offered by Venturi’s essay, through an analysis of the works, we want to investigate the dichotomy of the relationship between inside and outside, focusing on the contradictions juxtaposed and the different contradictory levels, relating to the two different ways of composing, that of subtracting and that of adding, highlighting affinities and divergences.
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Notes
- 1.
Please refer to the text The Aesthetic Vision of Semper. The Four Elements of Architecture by Heinz Quitzsch and Gottfried Semper. Influenced by the methodological approach based on the system of classification that is organized on the functioning of organs and other vital processes of plants, which resulted in a taxonomy of a few and original elements that are reread in all species proposed by Georges-Leopold Cuvier (biologist and his teacher of genetic biology), Semper condenses his aesthetic vision by theorizing the four original elements of architecture: the hearth, the fence, the roof, the mound; these are the ultimate summary of his studies of social history and the history of architecture, thus identifying the original elements necessary for each architecture, whose development is the basis of architecture of all time. In formulating its principles, Semper proceeds in a similar way to the studies of biologist Cuvier and therefore his approach does not start from the analysis of forms but from the analysis of the functions that make certain forms necessary, identifying the social functions and fundamental activities common to the life of all peoples: for example, the production of heat and hot food—and therefore the element of the hearth—of defense from the outside—and therefore the element of the fence—from the weather—and therefore the roof; so from these elements responding to actions all other elements develop with scientific necessity. It is an evolutionary theory of architecture starting from its function, and sought after by the origins of man. (see also the theory of the “Bekleidung”—namely the principle of cladding in architecture—of Semper, a theory to be considered a fundamental part of his thought, with particular reference to the volume Der Stil).
- 2.
The text contains what Carlo Aymonino claimed and is reported in the monographic number of “d’Architettura” n.27 (May—September 2005), in Laboratorio Italia 2005 di V. Longheu, E. Pitzalis.
- 3.
To subtract, from the latin subtrahĕre, “to draw below”.
- 4.
To dig, from the latin ex-cavare, etymologically “to make cable”.
- 5.
The plasticity of the volumes obtained with the use of reinforced concrete hides an important subtractive action of referring to instances of subtraction architecture: in fact, one of the perimeter walls is, in its composition in brick and reinforced concrete, excavated by a series of tunnels of different sizes, thus altering the tectonic nature of that “wall”. It is then possible to interpret the Rochamp wall as a monolithic block within which subtractive excavations have been carried out, confirming in some way that certain degree of ambiguity inherent in the architectural organism itself.
- 6.
It is important to note that what has been said about possible contradictions can be found in various examples of hypogean architecture, not only scattered throughout Italy; see for example the Troglodyte Barrio in Gaudix in Andalusia, the district of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia (Turkey), or even the sacred city of Lalibela in Ethiopia. The two figures (Figs. 1 and 2) make a comparison between the church of Santa Barbara in Göreme, Turkey (XI century) and the church of San Michele in Frengesto in Fasano, Italy (XII century approx.), and underline how the language of the architecture of subtraction is a theoretical attitude rather than a mere mode of construction.
- 7.
The “virtual restoration” of the pictorial apparatus inside the rock church has recently been carried out: the intervention—Virtual “Restoration Experience”, the first Italian example of virtual restoration—promoted by the San Domenico Foundation, which has been managing the site for six years, ensuring its knowledge and enhancement, was curated by Giuseppe Donvito, creator of the project, art historian and head of the park, by the expert in virtual restoration Maria Potenza and by Massimo Limoncelli, digital archaeologist and professor at the University of Palermo. The “restoration” consists of a laborious operation of videomap** through which it is possible to admire the wall paintings in their ancient splendor, without the need to work on the paintings with anachronistic or even harmful interventions. (see http://www.lamadantico.it/it/attivita/virtual-restoration-experience-118.html).
- 8.
The bema—an area reserved for the clergy, the place where the liturgy is celebrated—is located on a higher level than that of the two naves. Currently the bema is separated from the rest of the church by a trace of a wall that certainly replaced the iconostasis.
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Dilauro, A.V., Pavone, R. (2021). Hypogean Architecture: Apparent Simplicity and Effective Complexity. In: Bianconi, F., Filippucci, M. (eds) Digital Draw Connections. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 107. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59743-6_45
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