The Presence of the Past and Architecture in Islamic Countries were the first two international architecture exhibitions of the Venice Biennale, organized by Paolo Portoghesi between 1979 and 1982. Conceived simultaneously in 1979, they were designed as critical exhibitions devoted both to the emerging “postmodern” tendencies and to the transformation of the territory referred to as the “Third World.” In this context, the engagement with history was framed through an inquiry into Western and non-Western legacies within the complex setting of the Cold War. Although they deliberately rejected Western “universalism,” the choice to separate European and North American experiences from those of countries on the “other shore of the Mediterranean” inevitably raised questions about the legacy of European colonialism. In both exhibitions, the concept of the “modern” took on either a negative or a positive meaning depending on the geographical setting: it was “prohibitive and colonialist” in the modern Western city, yet a potential path to emancipation in the so-called “emerging countries.” While The Presence of the Past was conceived as a symbol of rupture with Western modernist language, the second exhibition sought to offer an overview of urban transformations in the “Third World” following decolonization. The subsequent shift of focus to the “Islamic world,” however, significantly reshaped the initial project—occurring just a few years after the publication of Orientalism, Edward Said’s seminal work. This research draws on the analysis of both primary and secondary sources, integrating insights from the social sciences in the interpretative phase. The contemporaneity of the subject enabled a comparative approach, made possible by two types of primary sources: archival documentation and the oral histories of some of the protagonists, including architects Francesco Cellini, Jean Dethier, Kenneth Frampton, and Attilio Petruccioli. The interpretive challenge posed by the meanings attached to the terms “Third World” and “Orient,” as well as their resonance within the international debates of the time, is grounded in the theoretical frameworks of anticolonial thought developed by psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon (1925–1961) and the postcolonial critique of literary theorist Edward Said (1935–2003). The extensive documentation has made it possible to reconstruct the dialectical relationship between the two exhibitions: Paolo Portoghesi’s “postmodern” narrative was extended to the “other shore of the Mediterranean,” engaging directly with the tension between “modernity” and decolonization. This dissertation explores the connection between the two exhibitions, interrogating the paradigm of thought that informed Portoghesi’s “postmodern” narrative beyond the Mediterranean and the choices of the Venice Biennale, in light of shifting geopolitical influence and the rise of postcolonial critique.
La Presenza del Passato e Architettura nei Paesi Islamici sono le prime due mostre internazionali di architettura dell’Ente Biennale di Venezia, organizzate da Paolo Portoghesi nel quadriennio 1979-1982. Le due manifestazioni vengono concepite contestualmente nel 1979 come mostre critiche dedicate alle nuove tendenze “postmoderne” e alla trasformazione del territorio denominato “Terzo Mondo”: l’interesse verso la storia è qui declinato attraverso un’indagine conoscitiva di eredità occidentali e non occidentali nel complesso quadro della Guerra fredda. Nonostante il deliberato rifiuto “dell’universalismo” occidentale, la scelta di suddividere esperienze europee e nordamericane da quelle di paesi “dell’altra sponda del Mediterraneo” pone in essere una riflessione sull’eredità del colonialismo europeo. Nelle due mostre il concetto di “moderno” acquisisce infatti segno negativo o positivo in base all’area geografica in cui opera: è “proibitivo e colonialista” nella città moderna dell’Occidente, possibilità di emancipazione nei cosiddetti “paesi emergenti”. Se l’esperienza de La Presenza del Passato è concepita come simbolo della rottura con il linguaggio moderno di matrice occidentale, la seconda mostra vuole offrire una panoramica delle trasformazioni urbane nel “Terzo Mondo” in seguito ai processi di decolonizzazione. Ma il successivo cambio di soggetto verso “il mondo islamico” riscrive la proposta iniziale, proprio a qualche anno di distanza dalla pubblicazione di Orientalism, l’opera seminale di Edward Said. La ricerca si basa sull’analisi di fonti primarie e secondarie, utilizzando in fase interpretativa apporti conoscitivi provenienti dalle scienze umane. La contemporaneità del soggetto di studio ha permesso di strutturare l’indagine su base comparativa grazie alla presenza di due tipologie di fonti primarie: l’apparato documentale archivistico e le storie orali di alcuni attori della vicenda, gli architetti Francesco Cellini, Jean Dethier, Kenneth Frampton e Attilio Petruccioli. Il problema interpretativo dei significati sottesi alle locuzioni “Terzo Mondo” e “Oriente”, nonché il loro riflesso nel dibattito internazionale dell’epoca, è supportato dai fondamenti teorici del pensiero anticoloniale dello psichiatra e filosofo Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) e della critica postcoloniale del teorico letterario Edward Said (1935-2003). La cospicua documentazione ha consentito di delineare il legame dialettico tra le due mostre: la narrazione “postmoderna” di Paolo Portoghesi viene estesa “all’altra sponda del Mediterraneo” chiamando in causa il rapporto tra “modernità” e decolonizzazione. La tesi ricostruisce il legame tra le due mostre interrogandosi sul paradigma di pensiero che informava la narrazione “postmoderna” di Paolo Portoghesi al di là del Mediterraneo e le scelte dell’Ente Biennale di Venezia, alla luce della nuova sfera di influenza geopolitica e dell’emergente critica postcoloniale.
Paolo Portoghesi e la Biennale di Venezia (1979-1982): le prime due mostre internazionali di architettura tra Oriente e Occidente
Cinotti, Raffaele
2025
Abstract
The Presence of the Past and Architecture in Islamic Countries were the first two international architecture exhibitions of the Venice Biennale, organized by Paolo Portoghesi between 1979 and 1982. Conceived simultaneously in 1979, they were designed as critical exhibitions devoted both to the emerging “postmodern” tendencies and to the transformation of the territory referred to as the “Third World.” In this context, the engagement with history was framed through an inquiry into Western and non-Western legacies within the complex setting of the Cold War. Although they deliberately rejected Western “universalism,” the choice to separate European and North American experiences from those of countries on the “other shore of the Mediterranean” inevitably raised questions about the legacy of European colonialism. In both exhibitions, the concept of the “modern” took on either a negative or a positive meaning depending on the geographical setting: it was “prohibitive and colonialist” in the modern Western city, yet a potential path to emancipation in the so-called “emerging countries.” While The Presence of the Past was conceived as a symbol of rupture with Western modernist language, the second exhibition sought to offer an overview of urban transformations in the “Third World” following decolonization. The subsequent shift of focus to the “Islamic world,” however, significantly reshaped the initial project—occurring just a few years after the publication of Orientalism, Edward Said’s seminal work. This research draws on the analysis of both primary and secondary sources, integrating insights from the social sciences in the interpretative phase. The contemporaneity of the subject enabled a comparative approach, made possible by two types of primary sources: archival documentation and the oral histories of some of the protagonists, including architects Francesco Cellini, Jean Dethier, Kenneth Frampton, and Attilio Petruccioli. The interpretive challenge posed by the meanings attached to the terms “Third World” and “Orient,” as well as their resonance within the international debates of the time, is grounded in the theoretical frameworks of anticolonial thought developed by psychiatrist and philosopher Frantz Fanon (1925–1961) and the postcolonial critique of literary theorist Edward Said (1935–2003). The extensive documentation has made it possible to reconstruct the dialectical relationship between the two exhibitions: Paolo Portoghesi’s “postmodern” narrative was extended to the “other shore of the Mediterranean,” engaging directly with the tension between “modernity” and decolonization. This dissertation explores the connection between the two exhibitions, interrogating the paradigm of thought that informed Portoghesi’s “postmodern” narrative beyond the Mediterranean and the choices of the Venice Biennale, in light of shifting geopolitical influence and the rise of postcolonial critique.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14242/299709
URN:NBN:IT:POLIBA-299709