1978, has also been the year of Scarpa's death, which occurred while he was in Japan to study the local culture.

in 1926 obtained his diploma of Professor in Architectural Drawing at the Royal Academy of Fine Art in Venice. He appreciated the Japanese attention to material detail and their integration of buildings with the natural environment.

Rejecting the neutral spaces of mainstream modernism, Scarpa created settings highlighting the uniqueness of objects.

Although Venice always remained the centre of his activities, starting from the 1950s he undertook several journeys to the Far East. Join us as we delve into the captivating world of Carlo Scarpa’s architectural masterpieces and unravel the genius behind his timeless creations.

 

 

Key Takeaways

• Carlo Scarpa was a visionary Italian architect influenced by Venetian culture and known for integrating craftsmanship and artistry in his designs.
• His architecture is distinguished by the innovative use of materials, meticulous attention to detail, and harmonious blend of historic and modern elements.
• Scarpa’s legacy endures in his iconic works and his pervasive influence on architecture and design, leaving a lasting imprint on the Venice landscape and beyond.

 

 

Early Life and Education

Birth	June 2, 1906
Death	November 28, 1978
Place of Birth	Venice, Italy
Genre of Work	Architecture
Notable Works	Museo di Castelvecchio Brion Tomb and Sanctuary Fondazione Querini Stampalia

Carlo Scarpa, born on June 2, 1906, in Venice, was deeply influenced by the cultural heritage and traditional craftsmanship of his Venetian background.

The significance of ornament emerges when matter is no longer considered merely as a means, hence a product. Other outstanding works include the Olivetti Showroom (Venice, 1957–58), and the Gavina Showroom (Bologna, 1961–63). He achieved the maturity of this approach after a lengthy apprenticeship, working slowly and cautiously.

Fitzroy Dearborn., 2005.

 

      TIMELINE       FURTHER READING  

Selected Publications

“Letter of the Venetian Rationalists,” Published in Il Lavoro Fascista, 1931

Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works

“A Thousand Cypresses,” Lecture given in Madrid, 1978

The Other City: The Architect’s Working Method As Shown by the Brion Cemetery in San Vito d’Altivole/Die andere Stadt: Die Arbeitsweise des Architekten am Beispiel der Grabanlage Brion in San Vito d’Altivole (bilingual English—German edition), Berlin: Ernst, 1989

 

Further Reading 

Albertini, Bianca and Alessandro Bagnoli, Scarpa: L’architettura nel dettaglio, Milan: Jaca Book, 1988; as Carlo Scarpa: Architecture in Details, translated by Donald Mills, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, and London: Architecture Design and Technology Press, 1988

Beltramini, Guido, Kurt W.Forster, and Paola Marini (editors), Carlo Scarpa: Mostre e musei, 1944–1976: Case e paesaggi, 1972–1978, Milan: Electa, 2000

Crippa, Maria Antonietta, Carlo Scarpa: Il pensiero, il disegno, i progetti, edited by Marina Loffi Randolin, Milan: Jaca Book, 1984; as Carlo Scarpa: Theory, Design, Projects, translated by Susan Chapman and Paola Pinna, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1986

Dal Co, Francesco and Giuseppe Mazzariol (editors), Carlo Scarpa: Opera completa, Milan: Electa, 1984; as Carlo Scarpa: The Complete Works, New York: Electa/Rizzoli, 1985

Detti, Edoardo, Carlo Scarpa, 1906–1978: Histoires comme experience, Marseilles: Editions Parentheses, 1986

Frascari, Marco, “A Heroic and Admirable Machine: The Theatre of the Architecture of Carlo Scarpa, Architetto Veneto,” Poetics Today 10, no.

Scarpa preferred to play the card of artifice, of the detail, of difference, of the fragment. The work he achieved up to the start of the '50s reveals the role of visual memory in Scarpa's work. At other times, the engagement amplifies the displays: in the extension to the Possagno museum for Canova’s plaster casts a refined arrangement admits the changing daylight through slots and cutout cubes of sky, vivifying the chalky prototypes and walls.

With regard to the latter question, we need only note Sergio Bettini's observation: Scarpa's "events" speak far more clearly of an absence than of any return to some kind of order. This approach is evident in his restoration projects, where he delicately balanced modern interventions with reverence for the original structures.

 

What Are Some of the Most Distinguished Works Created by Carlo Scarpa?

Scarpa’s most distinguished works include the Brion Cemetery in San Vito d’Altivole, the Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice, and the Castelvecchio Museum in Verona.

Detail has now become a source of interest to those concerned with ornament and tectonics alike—we are perhaps closer to him today than his contemporaries were.

Scarpa’s interest in the facade points to an acceptance of convention in architecture and a special attention to civic concerns, as in the Banca Popolare di Verona.