Como Rationalism: Architectural Heritage Of Massive International Renown
We always tell all clients who approach our region for the first time: the architectural landscape of Lake Como is a real kaleidoscope of souls.
There’s the liberty style of many villas in the old towns, the neoclassical, the eclectic, the ultramodern of the new buildings in glass and local stone. And then there are the buildings of Lake Como Rationalist trend, immediately recognizable by their linear, clean, sober, square shapes, without frills or aesthetic distractions. Often criticized as "concrete monsters", exaggeratedly sober... yet, as the rationalists said, “open to air and light, dynamic in their play of emptiness and fullness”.
In this article we want to talk about Lake Como Rationalism and Giuseppe Terragni (the main representative of this architectural trend), suggesting a selection of 10 rationalist buildings that are part of the historic legacy of our region.
Rationalism at Lake Como
Rationalism is an artistic and architectural trend that developed in Como between the mid-twenties and early-forties of the 20th century.
The inspiration of the movement was a collective of architects from the Polytechnic University in Milano, known as Gruppo 7. It was a group of friends, founded in 1926 by Giuseppe Terragni (the leading exponent of the Italian Movement of Rational Architecture, MIAR), Luigi Figini, Gino Pollini, Guido Frette, Sebastiano Larco Silva, Carlo Enrico Rava and Ubaldo Castagnoli, the latter later replaced by Adalberto Libera.
Terragni and Radice in an old shot
The group aimed to renew Italian architecture according to the new theories of Le Corbusier. It was essentially a new way of seeing architecture: modern materials, pure and essential forms, rejection of ornament and decoration.
Architecture was no longer conceived as something individual, but as the expression of society: it had to respond to collective needs. The idea was to respect tradition and classicism, but looking to the future.
The season of Como's Rationalism can be considered closed in 1943, with Terragni’s death.
Giuseppe Terragni and his vision
Terragni has been the leading, internationally known architect of Como Rationalism. In less than 30 years he left an important legacy of works that are now used as classic references of modern architecture.
He was able to raise a group around him which included not only architects and engineers - Pietro Lingeri, Gianni Mantero, Gabriele Giussani, Mario Cereghini, Adolfo Dell'Acqua, Oscar Ortelli, Cesare Cattaneo -, but also abstract painters and sculptors like Mario Radice, Manlio, Aldo Galli, Carla Badiali and Carla Prina.
Terragni's philosophy was to create spaces sprinkled with light, with a strong compositional balance.
"[...] one of the postulates of Rationalism is that the new architectural forms, with their relationship of emptiness and fullness, heavy masses (concrete, bricks, stones) and light structures (iron, glass), have to give an artistic emotion to all observers.”
He didn’t see the architect as a simple artist, rather as a builder for social purposes.
“Architecture arises clear, elementary, perfect when it’s the expression of people who select, observe and appreciate the results that, painstakingly reworked, reveal the spiritual values of society.”
Terragni conceived the idea of including newly designed modern buildings into the city center of Como. So he began, with his colleagues, to design modern type properties (complete with water, gas, electricity): healthier, more rational and even cheaper houses. All of this was possible thanks to the use of new materials (reinforced concrete, plastic, glass-concrete, etc.) that the industry of Lombardia made easily available. The "rationalist city" he had in mind, however, wasn’t fully realized.
Terragni died at the age of 39, following a cerebral thrombosis and a nervous breakdown after Second World War. He had never recovered from the horrors he experienced during the war.
10 rationalist gems to discover between Como and the western shore of the lake
The Lake Como region is packed with rationalist buildings. We have prepared for you a handy roundup of 10 of these modern gems, so that you can have the chance to see the deep influence this charming architectural trend had on the city of Como and surroundings.
Novocomum, aka “the Transatlantic” (Como, Viale Sinigaglia)
First example of Italian rationalist architecture, the emblematic Novocomum by Terragni comprises five floors plus attic, for a total of 200 rooms.
Perfectly linear, without any kind of decoration, Novocomum features extremely simple elements: pure wall and glass surfaces that reflect light. A colossus with round shapes at the corners that make it look like a ship: hence the nickname “the Transatlantic”. Many people in Como didn’t like it at all and started a signature collection to tear the building down. However, many European and Italian architects praised it and managed to keep it as it was.
Ex-Casa del Fascio (Como, Piazza del Popolo)
Ex-Casa del Fascio (the headquarter of fascists during Second World War), designed by Terragni and dating back to 1936, is a perforated white box, a kind of "glass house".
The 18 doors of the main façade and the massive use of glass-concrete and glazed surfaces literally cancel the boundaries between inside and outside.
It’s currently the headquarters of the command of Guardia di Finanza.
Asilo Sant’Elia (Como, Via Alciato)
Designed in 1935 by Terragni, this kindergarten was built to meet the needs of the new working class district born in the area in those years.
Equipped with large windows opening onto the garden, the building is a brilliant example of the interconnection of light and shapes, typical of Rationalism.
Monumento ai Caduti (Como, Viale Puecher)
Inaugurated in 1933, Monumento ai caduti is a 33-meter-high reinforced concrete tower, on which powerful blocks of karst stone are placed in memory of the victims of war.
Pic: Rastel & Rastel
Inside the shrine there’s a granite monolith with the name of 650 soldiers from Como who fell in the First World War.
The building is dedicated to Antonio Sant’Elia, young architect from Como who fell during the war in 1916.
On the wall of the tower facing the lake, you can see Sant’Elia’s last words: “This night we’ll sleep either in Trieste or in paradise, among the heroes”.
Novati and Pezzola write:
“It seems that Terragni wanted to give this new object the character of a spaceship ready to take off for 'a space odyssey' and at the same time offer it an anchor on the ground: his city. All the monuments designed by Terragni are walkable: also in this case from the crypt area you go up in an ascending path up to the belvedere terrace, where the relationship between the monument and its surroundings is summarized, between the lake and the valley”.
Casa Giuliani-Frigerio (Como, Viale Fratelli Rosselli 24)
The different apartments (three on each floor) into which the building is divided have been designed by Terragni (between 1939 and 1940) as flexible spaces, with their various fronts, balconies, and rear windows.
Casa Giuliani-Frigerio is a compelling example of the rationalist style applied to residential buildings. Unlike other works by Terragni, this house has maintained its original look, structure and finishes.
This house was the last building designed by Terragni; if the events of the war hadn’t impacted negatively his health, a new phase of experimentation would probably have started from this project.
Fontana di Camerlata (Como, Piazzale Camerlata)
Designed in 1935 by rationalist architect Cesare Cattaneo and painter Mario Radice, but built only in 1960, the fountain represents, through a combination of rings and spheres, the magic of Alessandro Volta’s pile.
Damiano Cattaneo, son of architect Cesare, defined the structure as "a monument to traffic, which should be admired from your car while you’re stuck in traffic”.
Villa Amila (Tremezzo, Via Statale 15)
The villa was built in 1931 by Pietro Lingeri with a project inspired by naval architecture (a clear reference to the theme of the building-machine theorized in those years by Le Corbusier).
Born as the headquarter of the Italian Motorboat Association Lario (A.M.I.L.A.), in 1947 the building underwent some changes to be turned into a private residence.
Villa Leoni (Ossuccio, Via Provinciale 2)
Villa Leoni, located in a terrific panoramic position overlooking Isola Comacina, was commissioned by Raffaele Leoni and Diana Peduzzi to Pietro Lingeri.
The architect mainly used local materials: Moltrasio stone, Musso marble, serizzo and Valmalenco stone.
Today you can rent this villa for your holiday!
Case per artisti (Isola Comacina)
The building project (designed by Pietro Lingeri) for artists’ lodgings on Isola Comacina dates back to 1920, when the Island was left in the hands of Accademia di Brera.
These lodgings - used by Italian and Belgian artists for short summer stays - are a functionalist reinterpretation of larian vernacular architecture. Elements of rural architecture coexist with typical elements from the modernist repertory, such as the ribbon windows or the glass block walls. The walls are built with Moltrasio stone blocks.
Villa Silvestri (Tremezzo)
This is another amazing example of Lombard rationalist architecture on Lake Como. Architect Lingeri here chose to use many elements derived from naval architecture, like portholes and metal parapets. The villa is built on the foundations of an old shipyard.
Source: www.maarc.it
Sources: www.maarc.it; lagodicomo.com
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