The Politics of the Piazza: The History and Meaning of the Italian Square (Design and the Built Environment)

by Dr. Eamonn Canniffe

Professor Matthew Carmona

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Through a detailed study of the principal spaces of Italian cities, this book explores the relationship between political systems and their methods of representation in architecture. Illustrated by contemporary photographs and analytical drawings, it examines significant piazzas and situates these examples in their social and political contexts, highlighting the urban evidence of shifts between autocratic and democratic forms of government through history.

The ideological role of political architecture is analyzed through the work of various theorists including ancient sources, Renaissance thinkers and modern critics. The complex evolution of individual spaces over time is represented by their physical layering from ancient times to the present day. Other examples connect the development of different characteristic types of Italian urban form in chronological sequence, categorized by art historical and political periods.

  • ISBN13 9781409487760
  • Publish Date 28 November 2012 (first published 1 July 2008)
  • Publish Status Active
  • Out of Print 20 January 2022
  • Publish Country GB
  • Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
  • Imprint Ashgate Publishing Limited
  • Edition New edition
  • Format eBook
  • Pages 304
  • Language English