entry
Oct. 2008
Piazza Grande
Piazza Grande is the name of a gigantic, circular
residential complex in the Arenaccia section of Naples,
at the foot of the eastern slope of the Capodimonte
hill. It is quite visible from the height of the tangenziale highway that bridges the
entire area on the way to the Capodimonte
airport. It is also quite visible and distinct in
satellite shots of the area. For all I know, it is
visible from Mars, its home planet, for it is perhaps
the most gloriously incongruous bit of architecture in
the city (with the Jolly
Hotel a most inglorious second). Piazza Grande
looks as if it has just landed for a while to ask
directions to the asteroid belt.
The complex opened in 1989 and was
designed by the Neapolitan architects Aldo Loris Rossi,
Donatella Mazzoleni, Annalisa Pignalosa and Luigi
Riviecchi. It won the 1989 Engineering and Architecture
Prize from the National Institute of Architecture. It is
described in various sources as an example of “organic
architecture” (If that means that it fits in with the
surrounding area, it doesn’t.)
Piazza grande is
said to have its inspiration in semi-circular structures
in Britain of the so-called Georgian school (roughly
1720-1840), specifically, the Royal Crescent and the
Circus, both in Bath.
“Piazza Grande” (Grand
Square) refers to the 100-meter diameter of the internal
courtyard (photo, right) of this large wheel-shaped
building. The multi-story “rim” is composed of
residences and shops; there are really no “spokes” into
the hub, just the large internal space set below the
first floor of surrounding residences, creating an
amphitheater effect.
There are six large residential silo-towers (top
photo) on one side of the rim (each 36 meters high) and a
dozen smaller towers containing stairs and elevators
spread around the entire perimeter. There is parking
within the complex and it seems to be self-contained or
self-sufficient or whatever the term is for modern castles
where you will close the drawbridge and wait for
Armageddon to pass. It reminds me of the octagonal Castel del Monte of Frederick II in Puglia minus
the numerological hocus-pocus surrounding the towers. (At
least I don't think there is any numerological hocus-pocus
going on, but I was really afraid to ask. It seems to me
you could get a pretty easy Number of the Beast out of 6
main towers and 12 smaller ones.) In spite of being
space-age modern, it is in keeping with the ancient
European urban concept of the village square: the
gathering place in the middle with the shops and homes of
the people ringing the center.
The entire complex has
219 units, including residences, shops, offices and
recreational facilities. Part of the incongruity of the
building is that it is simply too modern for the area,
but I understand that that could be said to be the fault
of the area and not the building. Change has to start
somewhere, I suppose.
Piazza Grande happens to be
in one of those crowded “popular” sections of Naples that
crop up in period films about the teeming masses and fish
markets of Naples. It is also next to the well-known ponti rossi (red bridges), remnants of a
Roman aqueduct (second photo from top).
© 2002 - 2023