Giovanni Michelucci: Heritage of Pompeii and Post-War Reconstruction

In 1932 Giovanni Michelucci visited Pompeii and Ercolano. The experience of the archaeological site played a key role in the development of Michelucci as an architect. The deepest sense of that lesson learnt in his youth resurfaced after 1944. Involved as he was in the debate on reconstruction, for Michelucci the inseparable relation between society and the city revealed by the remains at Pompeii was an unavoidable inspiration. The writings and designs submitted for the reconstruction of the Ponte Vecchio area (1944-1945) converge towards a new urban vision, one where the memory of the past is distilled in its deepest components and substantiated in the present.