La scoperta della cultura neoclassica sulla scena europea del XVIII secolo. Nuove prospettive per gli interventi di restauro architettonico

Abstract

The debate, which began in the 18th-century, is around the question: ‘What is monument?’. For the neoclassicists, monuments are material ruins of the Greek and Roman civilizations: triumphal arches, theatres, bridges, aqueducts and all that remained in Europe from the classical period. The neoclassical restoration season built the foundations of a new discipline, attributing monumental value to ancient ruins in a non-episodic but systematic way. The next restoration is only about extending the concept of monument. This essay  discusses the domain of application of the restoration: from this period onwards medieval, baroque and, more recently, the nineteenth century and early twentieth century factories are considered monuments.