Gallery Vittorio Emanuele II constitutes one of the most remarkable examples of 19th-century European arcades still standing today. The history of its ideation as a large-scale urban operation in the heart of 19th-century Milan, its architectural design and construction reflected significant national events and complex cultural values. The Gallery represents an emblematic piece of heritage especially as an example of the monumental Italian urban architecture. One of its outstanding features is the iron-and-glass roof which dimensions and monumental impact were unmatched by the already constructed arcades. The cupola was especially celebrated on international level as a powerful representative of iron-glass architecture. Due to its significance, the iron-glass cover merits a more profound investigation in terms of original construction technology, creativity and monumental spatial effect. Newly-discovered sources allow “re-assembling” its building logic in detail. Comparison to preceding arcades such as Brussels Galleries Saint-Hubert highlights the deep relation between the roof technology and the pursued monumental effect in the Gallery. Four leading examples of this relation can be delineated: an “invisible” reinforcing system balancing the lateral thrust of the cover in order to free its span of visible tie-rods; high load-bearing resistance of small cross-section glazing bars; the shape of the overlapping glass panes; their connection to the glazing bars without additional transversal profiles. Then, a thorough examination of the history of interventions after the completion of the construction works in terms of complicated issues, applied techniques and materials can reveal the extent to which its original merits survived numberless cases of special and routine maintenance as well as the major reconstruction after the Second World War. Furthermore, the research has revealed when the traces towards a more adequate awareness for the complex identity of the cover as an essential characteristic of the Gallery has started to take a more definitive form. The goal of the thesis is not only to put light on the nineteenth-century technology, creative ideas encoded in it and the history of interventions but also to define the identity of the roof standing in place today as a complex of historic, technological and architectural values. In addition, it was aimed at promoting this identity as a merit deserving a more sophisticated multidisciplinary approach in future interventions which should respect its complex nature.
La Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II costituisce uno dei più importanti esempi di gallerie commerciali ottocentesche ancora esistenti in Europa. La storia della sua ideazione come operazione urbana su larga scala nel cuore della Milano ottocentesca, della sua progettazione architettonica e della sua costruzione riflettono significativi eventi storici nazionali e complessi valori culturali. Come tale essa rappresenta un patrimonio particolarmente ricco e emblematico, all’origine di una nuova architettura monumentale urbana, apprezzata, fin dalla sua inaugurazione, non soltanto in Italia, ma anche in ambito internazionale. Tra le sue caratteristiche principali è la copertura in vetro e ferro, le cui dimensioni e impatto ambientale erano per lo più inedite nelle gallerie precedentemente costruite. La tesi ripercorre la storia del progetto e della realizzazione della Galleria facendo tesoro degli studi già effettuati, ma sviluppando con nuovi documenti e nuove considerazioni il tema della copertura. Particolarmente ammirata a livello nazionale come potente rappresentazione dell’architettura in vetro e ferro, la copertura in ferro e vetro è stata quindi oggetto di una più approfondita investigazione nei termini delle tecnologie costruttive originali, della creatività, del risultato spaziale e effetto monumentale. Fonti recentemente scoperte hanno permesso di “riassemblare” la sua logica costruttiva nel dettaglio. L’analisi comparativa con precedenti passages, quali le Galeries Saint Hubert di Bruxelles, hanno inoltre messo in luce sulla base di considerazioni tecniche e estetiche, la profonda relazione che sussiste tra la soluzione tecnologica e l’impatto monumentale ricercato da Giuseppe Mengoni: il progettista della Galleria. La ricerca sul divenire nel tempo della Galleria e, soprattutto, delle sue parti in ferro e vetro dal punto di vista delle problematiche, degli approcci e delle tecniche utilizzate, ha rivelato come i meriti originali della costruzione siano sopravvissuti a molteplici casi di manutenzione straordinaria e ordinaria, così come alla massiccia ricostruzione avvenuta dopo la Seconda Guerra Mondiale. L’obiettivo della tesi non è stato solo quello di mettere in luce la tecnologia del diciannovesimo secolo, le idee creative e la storia degli interventi ma anche di definire l’identità della copertura d’oggi come un complesso di valori storici, technologici e architettonici. Inoltre, si è mirato a promuovere tale identità come meritevole di un approccio multidisciplinare che rispetterà la sua complessa natura nelle future campagne di conservazione.
Gallery Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. The iron-glass cover: innovation, conservation, continuity
STOYANOVA, IVA
Abstract
Gallery Vittorio Emanuele II constitutes one of the most remarkable examples of 19th-century European arcades still standing today. The history of its ideation as a large-scale urban operation in the heart of 19th-century Milan, its architectural design and construction reflected significant national events and complex cultural values. The Gallery represents an emblematic piece of heritage especially as an example of the monumental Italian urban architecture. One of its outstanding features is the iron-and-glass roof which dimensions and monumental impact were unmatched by the already constructed arcades. The cupola was especially celebrated on international level as a powerful representative of iron-glass architecture. Due to its significance, the iron-glass cover merits a more profound investigation in terms of original construction technology, creativity and monumental spatial effect. Newly-discovered sources allow “re-assembling” its building logic in detail. Comparison to preceding arcades such as Brussels Galleries Saint-Hubert highlights the deep relation between the roof technology and the pursued monumental effect in the Gallery. Four leading examples of this relation can be delineated: an “invisible” reinforcing system balancing the lateral thrust of the cover in order to free its span of visible tie-rods; high load-bearing resistance of small cross-section glazing bars; the shape of the overlapping glass panes; their connection to the glazing bars without additional transversal profiles. Then, a thorough examination of the history of interventions after the completion of the construction works in terms of complicated issues, applied techniques and materials can reveal the extent to which its original merits survived numberless cases of special and routine maintenance as well as the major reconstruction after the Second World War. Furthermore, the research has revealed when the traces towards a more adequate awareness for the complex identity of the cover as an essential characteristic of the Gallery has started to take a more definitive form. The goal of the thesis is not only to put light on the nineteenth-century technology, creative ideas encoded in it and the history of interventions but also to define the identity of the roof standing in place today as a complex of historic, technological and architectural values. In addition, it was aimed at promoting this identity as a merit deserving a more sophisticated multidisciplinary approach in future interventions which should respect its complex nature.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/109909