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DOCUMENTATION
Survey and Drawing for a Conservation-Restoration Project. Study for Genoa and Savona by Giulia Pellegri The Waterfront of Genoa. Studies and Surveys Introduction This article concerns the facades of the waterfront of Genoa in Italy, and puts in evidence the studies about the actual architectonic configuration principally through the deep analysis of the medieval building components. The 31 single facades of the urban front have been surveyed and drawn in scale 1:50 in order to evidence and to study the architectonic, stylistic, structural, decorative and typological characteristics. The architectonic and decorative particulars have been drawn in scale of 1:20, such as building textures which are particular interesting as far as the study of wall stratification units (Unità Stratigrafiche Murarie) are concerned. The work was developed on the basis of three fundamental themes: Analysis, Survey and Evolution. Analysis is the first step of the historical and iconographic research; survey is a very important knowledge instrument, both architectonic and formal, especially through the study of the drawing representation of the building materials; evolution and building transformations are the basis to find the original medieval typologies. The survey is not only the process of measuring a building’s form. In fact the critical survey, supported by studies about history, town-planning situations and cultural incidences, is a scientific method to analyse the building’s typological, structural, distributive, linguistic and stylistic characteristics. From this point of view, historical research becomes essential to the survey phase as fundamental knowledge instrument. Historiography, historical cartography and iconography represent very important steps during the study; many pencil proportional drawings of the facades and studies about the planimetrical development connected to Genoa’s historical centre were made. The first survey stage consisted in direct measurements which were compared by the means of more sophisticated survey instruments such as Nikon total station and photogrammetry software (straightened photos). The archaeological stratifications bases were applied to some parts of the fronts to put in evidence the historical sequences and to help to the comprehension of the original aspect and architectonic form. The final step of the study concerns the drawing up of the synthesis cards: general description of every single front, architectonic-decorative cards, typological individuations, survey and analysis of building stratification.
During the research project the author took into consideration the next principal phases for the complete waterfront study:
Inspection of the site - Taking note and examining the object of study; - Checking the accuracy of the previous and old survey records; - Photographic recognition from panoramic to detail. Historical Analysis - Historical research and inquiry about typological urban building evolution; - Cadastral and Archive research; - Bibliographic research; - Study of architectonic and town-planning evolution site; - Planimetric individuation of plots through spaces and types with the passing of the centuries. Survey - Geometric survey with direct method; - Architectonic and metric survey for the fronts’ details; - Indirect survey using total station Nikon DTM 200. Facade historical stratifications - Studies upon the front materials characterization; - Individuations and analysis of the wall historical stratifications.
Survey Drawings
- Planimetric individuation of the water-front buildings in the urban context - scale 1:200; - The 31 studied buildings - scale 1:100 and 1:50; - Wall textures details - scale 1:20; - Plastic and painted facade’s decorations - scale 1:20. Cards - General description (data found at the Superintendence of Architectonic and Environmental Liguria Goods, Historical Archive of Genoa, bibliography); - Architectonic-decorative description (front analysis: elevation fascias, individuation of decorative, plastic and painted particulars); - Typological description (types connected to the historical matrix); - USM survey and analysis of the wall historical stratifications (critical interpretation of the Harris Matrix). The research also put in evidence the very important theme: colour-architecture. Genoa is not only historically the city of Painted Fronts, and for this reason famous among the many other “painted” cities in Italy and in Europe, but Genoa also rises occasions to debate about the "theme-problem", to compare right methodological approaches and new techniques for restoration. This debate concerns not only the architectonic scale of single buildings (the theme of the “Painted Fronts” International Congress in Genoa, 1982) but also the environmental urban scale: streets, squares and every urban route. Thus, all the historical or non-historical components which influence the material aspect and therefore the historical, social, morphological and stylistic values must be considered. Conservation recognizes the importance of this contextual aspect as a whole, taking in consideration and associating all the factors required by the complexity of a historical building. The Colour is a fundamental aspect because it is always a characteristic element of a place and consequently, it is a cultural element, both as applied colour and as used material. The waterfront of Genoa is characterized by a continue colonnade, being planned as a service infrastructure and not just as a passageway. In fact, in 1133 and 1143 "Consules de Communi" decided (due to the rules for regularizing the arcade’s forms and materials) to lean the arcade against the walls of the buildings, with the intent of boosting houses’ widening by taxes exemption for new buildings and raisings. Historical mentions The new colonnade was built with 4,5 meters high stone columns with cross vaults and a vault or plan roof. In fact, due to the law approved by the consuls concerning the houses’ widening the total width of the arcade passage was then comprehended between the arcs and the houses (actual Via Sottoripa). During the XIIIth century a new service element - the aqueduct - was leaned against the walls of the houses of Sottoripa; in this way it became possible to build new mezzanines at the height of the aqueduct’s pipes. The individuation of a consistent number of the existent building characteristics of the different historical phases permitted to reconstruct the progressive buildings transformation process. The most significant elements of Ripa Maris buildings are: building type, distributive and functional characteristics, linguistic and stylistic elements, technological and technical-structural components to testify the many processes which characterize this unitary architectonical "organism" (urban archaeological site). As far as the constructive and material elements are concerned, Ripa still presents medieval components: the ponderous Romanesque buildings became lighter in the XIIIth and XIVth centuries, using stone, marble and bricks with new doors and windows openings, whose traces are still visible on the walls. In the case of the waterfront buildings, which are the result of elementary cells aggregation, the unifying horizontal direction plays an important role both in the elevation alignment and in the structural elements of the complex image configuration of the colonnade with unified and raised houses. A further transformation phase took place during the XVIIth century, with the construction of the sea-wall (image 5). In 1836, in front of Ripa Maris a new road was constructed - Via Carlo Alberto – which was considered a very important commercial street. In fact to construct this road great cuts of the medieval urban tissue had to be made (image 6). The street goes from San Tomaso Door (Porta dei Vacca) to the actual Raibetta Square, cutting most of the medieval houses of the Waterfront first stretch, from Porta dei Vacca to via Ponte Calvi (lots in succession from n.1-8). On this occasion the arcades were covered by new palaces and part of Via Turati arcs disappeared under the new buildings. In fact, because of the new Raibetta Square opening in 1861, great buildings with portico have been erected. The central part, between Via al Ponte Calvi and De Marini square, remains the only part with original portico. The arcades from Via al Ponte Calvi to Vico Giannini were restored in 1893 and in 1898 as well as the part between Vico Giannini e Vico Morchi in 1893 and 1903. The restoration plan included the demolition of the parts that covered the medieval portico, through the recomposition of the internal and external fronts. Archive research has brought to light the original plan-drawings for the painted facades of the buildings between Vico Giannini and Vico Morchi. Unfortunately, these painted decorations completely disappeared, but the historical photos (from Historic Archive of Genoa) put into evidence the beautiful, precious facade decorations (images 7, 8). The typological description is aimed to put in evidence the principal matrix courses and the urban context through a synoptic table about building types of Ripa Maris. Some fronts (n. 12, 13, 16, 17, 23, and 25 to 27) are very interesting to study, the walls stratification research being based upon the critical interpretation and application of the “Harris Matrix” connected to the date scheme about direct, absolute direct, absolute and relative indirect dating. The unification of all the found elements and their interpretation as stratified components help to recover information on the architecture history and on the cultural development of the environment. The Matrix card permits to memorize all the observed data and further, the technological aspect permits to gather information on the relationship between superficies, forms and decorative elements. As Mariette De Vos noted1, "the correct exam of materials, techniques and findings used for decorative facing, their geographic diffusion and also the precise diachronic, quantitative and qualitative estimation are necessary to reconstruction..." In the case of Ripa, principally there are Basis Types which are the matrix of the typological development of the building: one-family building cell with one (A1) or two arcs (A2) at the ground-floor, where the access is made from the portico or sometimes from the lateral front (variante d’angolo – corner variant), and two or three original floors on the foundation level, with reduced height from high to low and width of the front between four and six metres. Generally, the principal front has a central window, but if the stairs allow, a new slimmer window can be added (basis type A1). For the basis type A2, two windows are placed in axis with the arches of the foundation. The base is in promontory stone and the elevation part is made in brick load-bearing wall. The union of many basis types gives origin to remelting (transformation of basis types into multifamiliar-multiple buildings). The economic growth of Genoa during the XVth century induced a great level of urbanization near the port, the multiple remelting being the most frequent case of typological transformation of the medieval buildings of Ripa Maris (Figures 9, 10). During the centuries, different town-plans and buildings restorations involving the waterfront have brought the author to individuate five principal lots. These lots differ one from the other because of their many peculiar typological and stylistic characteristics. The study put in evidence the principal phases of transformation of the single parts: the XIIIth and XIVth centuries constructive phase, the floors replacement, the walling up of the arches and the opening of the XVIth and XVIIth centuries rectangular windows, the remeltings and raisings from the XIXth century and the restoration plan of the XXth century that brought to light the medieval pre-existences. Waterfront’s sections
The first section of the waterfront, from Porta dei Vacca to Vico del Serriglio, (fronts n. 1 to 8) is completely modified because of the construction of the new road Via Carlo Alberto; the arcade was absorbed into the new foundation of the new palaces, but the covered arcades “Dark Ripa” remained unaltered in matter and form.
The second lot, from Ponte Calvi to Vico Morchi (fronts n. 9 to 17), is particularly interesting because of the façade continuity. Here, 17 basis types have been fused into the continue portico, presenting evident traces of the first constructive phase: the first and second floors have stone and brick walls and stone with white marble arches (images 14-19).
The buildings that occupied the actual lot n. 18 were destroyed by the bombs of the Second World War and so the original buildings were substituted by modern buildings (images 20-22). The third portion, from Vico del Serriglio to Via al Ponte Reale (fronts n. 19 to 22), is characterized by facades that do not have a stylistic unity. In fact, the development traces of remeltings, raisings and unification of different types must be considered. Here the portico is partially covered by the aqueduct (images 23-25). The arcades of the fronts n. 23 to 27 have maintained the original medieval peculiarities: the promontory-stone pillars of the base part, the traces of acute arches and the facing from the constructive phase of XIIIth and XIVth century. The fronts n. 23 (Cattaneo Adorno Palace), n. 25 and n. 26 are very interesting as far as wall stratification analysis is concerned: the walls present different plaster treatments and stratifications, making possible to read the constructive phases connected to the different wall stratification units. Finally, the last fronts (Via Turati) were erected over the medieval traces. There are 4 great neorenaissance style buildings, with basis part with rusticated and round arches built in 1866. Via Pia in Savona constitutes an interesting case from several reasons. First of all, it constitutes a challenge in regard to the methodological application for the conservation of the historical building facades, especially of the coloured and painted facades, a typical phenomenon of Liguria. On the other hand, this historical city episode is particularly interesting for the complexity, richness and stratification of its valuable architectonic elements. Contrary to the cases of coastal historical centers with painted facades, where the architectonic elements are all uniform, here a totally new fact can be observed: an historical road axis of medieval origins, with a series of evolution building examples, that report to the various ages, documenting the transformations of the original medieval matrix with many different elements of great interest. The facades are also various in external finishes, so that the continuous street wings of Pia road constitute a sole testimony palimpsest of buildings history and of Savona’s historical centre culture. Here, typical characteristics are in perfect correspondence with those of the Genovese historical centre and those of Liguria culture. On Pia road, in the sequence of the compact buildings with crowd typology, there are still many medieval building examples, with the single units testified by the brick arches of the windows and marked by the medieval hanging arches of separation between the ground floor and the first floor. Moreover, some of the most interesting examples of successive transformation in the houses’ medieval arcades are still conserved, due to the commercial specialization of 1200. The Renaissance fronts are characterized by the painted facade, deduced from the contemporary Genoa models. Some examples are particularly significant: the palace of the Rovere-Cassinis (n. 5), the Sormano Palace (n. 1) and the most recent but very precious graffito example from the beginning of the twentieth century. The "requalification" of the fronts of Pia road contains a more ambitious restoration plan of a city-environmental image, based upon an extended knowledge concerning the facades with decorations, the materials and colours, the state of conservation and the types of degradation. It is planned to valorize and conserve the building culture, which represents in this case a stratified and rich example of a strong and evocative medieval matrix. Notes:
1. Mariette De Vos, "La scheda di unità stratigrafica di rivestimento (pavimenti e decorazioni)", in Storia dalla terra. Manuale di scavo archeologico, A. Carandini, Einaudi, Torino, 1991.
About the author
Giulia Pellegri
contact: studiogpa@libero.it University of Genoa, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Science for Architecture (D.S.A.) Giulia Pellegri graduated at the Faculty of Architecture of the athenaeum in Genoa in 1994 and since then she is collaborating with the course of Survey of Architecture at the Department of Science for Architecture (D.S.A.) of the Faculty of Architecture in Genoa. In 1999 she presented her PhD thesis in Research in Survey and Drawing Representation of the Architecture and Environment. Since 2001 she teaches courses in the areas of measurement and architectonic survey at the Faculty of Architecture. She also teaches several other seminars at the Faculty of Engineering in Genoa since 2003, focused on computerized methodologies in survey, photographic straightening and chromatic elaborations, among others. She develops her research at the Department of Construction, Urban Planning and Engineering Materials (DEUIM) of the Faculty of Engineering in Genoa through research conferment in 2003-04 and 2004-05 and at the Department D.S.A. of the Faculty of Architecture in Genoa through research conferment in 2005-06. She also co-supervised several degree thesis at the Faculty of Architecture in 2006/2007.
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