The course aims to provide the student with an in-depth knowledge and a critical understanding of Early Modern Architectural History. In particular it will improuve his knowledge on: 1) periodization, 2) issues and problems from the Fifteenth to the mid-Eighteenth century, 3) notions of architectural literature, 4) recognition and critical understanding of selected buildings/projects and architect's careers. The analysis of significant architectures designed and/or built between the Fifteenth and the first half of the Eighteenth century may be done through the study of different aspects such as: architect, client, form, structure, program, design, construction, physical and political context, historiography; together with the analysis of sites of special architectural, social or political interest (such as small "ideal" utopistic towns, the capital cities of the Seventeenth century, etc.) and of structural aspects (such as domes, a theme that runs throughout the period, from S. Maria del Fiore, to St. Peter's, to the Chapel of the Holy Shroud).

The principal learning outcomes are: - General knowledge of architectural history and theory for the Early modern period; ability to correctly identify and place architectural production in space and time, using an appropriate specific vocabulary. - Knowledge of the methods of historical analysis in architecture. - Knowledge and understanding of the main cultural, social, economic urban transformations for the concerned period. - Ability to identify historical sources and to use them correctly. - Ability to organize data collected by historical analysis at different scales. - Critical understanding of different historical interpretations on the same monument/space.

A very broad and general knowledge of Italian and European Early Modern history is a prerequisite; furthermore at the beginnig of each part of the course a minimum of references will be given to introduce the topics of the lessons. The course also requires a general knowledge of Art history (at high school level) for the Ancient, Midle Ages and Early Modern periods. As the course is in the third year of the Bachelor Degree, the basic architectural vocabulary (parts of buildings, building elements, primary forms in the history of architecture, architectural orders) is also taken for granted.

The course, delivered in English and offered to international students coming from different countries and cultural areas, is an introduction to the history of Western Architecture from 1420 approx. to 1750: from the Italian Quattrocento, to a selection of themes and examples ranging from the XVI to the XVIII century, with an expanding geographical focus, in time, from Italy to Europe. Aim of the lessons is to provide the student with a cultural and historical background on the Architecture and Urban forms of the period, and also to expand his vocabulary and critical approach to Architecture in general. Attendance to the lectures is essential to the positive outcome of the course and the exam. General outline of the lectures: - XV Century Architecture in Italy and its relations with Antiquity (approx. 15 hours) • Antiquity and Modernity: the heritage of Ancients and the formation of the Classical Language • Brunelleschi, Alberti and Early Renaissance architectural thought and practices • The orders in Classical Architecture: from Vitruvius to Leon Battista Alberti - XVI Century Architecture in Italy (15 hours) • Great Architects in Milan and Rome: Bramante, Raffaello, the Sangallos, Michelangelo • The palaces and the villas of the Italian Renaissance • Palladio: architecture, villas and landscape, a model • Architecture and crisis: religious reform in Italy and Europe - XVII and XVIII Century Architecture in Italy and in Europe (25 hours) • Baroque Architecture in Rome • Turin as a paradigm for European Architecture and Urban Design • Paris in the XVII century: architecture and urban development • Guarini and Baroque Architecture in Piedmont • Filippo Juvarra and the internationality of Baroque Architecture • English "Palladianism": architecture, villas and landscape, a model • Eighteenth-Century developments: architecture, science and Enlightenment thought Outdoor lectures / exercises (approx. 5 hours), to be defined The organization of the lectures may change depending on specific opportunities and developing interests. On-site visits and outdoor lectures will be organized, in Turin and at least in another Italian city.

The course, in English, is mainly based on classroom lectures. The students are invited to visit monuments and nearby cities: these visits are optional, however, open air lessons in Turin within the course timetable are mandatory. One or more individual exercises, to turn in and discuss during the course, are part of the program (e.g., analysis of an Architectural Order, critical study of a monument, etc.) and will be taken in consideration in the evaluation criteria for the exam. Taking notes is mandatory; students are encouraged to draw/sketch, both during visits in Turin or nearby and in classroom.

There is no single mandatory textbook. Some texts, available in the Biblioteca Centrale di Architettura and in general in public libraries, are recommended; they can be read partly or as a whole, and used as guides into more selected readings, which will be assigned since the first lectures. Additional bibliography, references to websites, and readings are given throughout the course and will be sometimes available for download (pdf) from the course website. Therefore, the following listed books are just general suggestions: - J. Summerson, The Classical Language of Architecture, Cambridge, MIT, 1963 [1st. ed; later editions are available]; - P. Murray, The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance, London, Thames and Hudson, 1986 (revised third ed., first ed. 1963); - W. Lotz, Architecture in Italy 1500-1600, New Haven, London, Yale University Press, 1995; - R. Wittkower, Art and Architecture in Italy, 1600-1750, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1973 revised ed.; - R. Pommer, Eighteenth-century Architecture in Piedmont : the open structures of Juvarra, Alfieri, Vittone, New York/London, Univ. Press, 1967.

Modalità di esame: Prova orale obbligatoria;

Exam: Compulsory oral exam;

... The final exam will be taken individually and in oral form. It aims to assess the knowledge of the topics discussed during the course and covered in the required readings, demonstrating a) knowledge of specific topics in the history of Early Modern Architecture, b) the understanding of periodization and chronology, c) the ability to discuss and recognize specific examples among those analyzed during the lectures. The exam is usually based on three open questions strictly based on the final program of the lectures; it lasts usually around 20 minutes. The positive evaluation of in-course exercises might influence the final grade. Further information will be available at the beginning of the course.

Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.