Il contributo mira ad analizzare alcuni interventi crociani nei quali il critico, noto per la pacatezza dei toni e la classicità della sua prosa, adopera, invece, un lessico da invettiva, polemizzando contro alcuni bersagli politici e letterari. Verranno presi soprattutto in esame un paio di interventi di ambito politico, nei quali Croce si scaglia contro gli "imbecilli" che propugnano un ideale di "onestà" politica che egli non condivide; e alcuni suoi attacchi a letterati, intellettuali e filosofi contemporanei quali d'Annunzio, Papini etc. L'analisi sarà condotta sia dal punto di vista dei contenuti (con opportuni riferimenti alla filosofia crociana) sia considerando l'aspetto formale dei testi (lessico, figure retoriche, stilemi etc.), cercando di comprendere, volta per volta, le ragioni che hanno indotto Croce ad adottare toni più veementi e aggressivi del consueto.The paper aims to analyze some articles written by Benedetto Croce in which the critic, known for calm tones and classicism of his prose, uses a lexicon of invective, arguing against some political and literary targets. Will be taken into consideration especially a couple of interventions of the political sphere, in which Croce criticizes "idiots" who advocate an ideal of "honesty" policy that he does not share; and some of his attacks on writers, intellectuals and philosophers such as d'Annunzio, Papini etc. We will try to analyze the contents (with appropriate references to the philosophy of Croce) and formal aspects (vocabulary , figures of speech , styles etc.) , trying to understand the reasons why Croce adopted more vehement and aggressive tone than usual.
This research project stems from two different sources: an interest in the connection between literature and identity (both personal and national) and an interest in the recent desire of reappropriating Bram Stoker as an Irish author that can be noticed both in academia and in the wider public. In the past, Stoker was often included in anthologies of British writers without mentioning his being Irish, sometimes being even explicitly described as an English writer. In fact, he was a hundred percent Irish, in spite of the long time spent in London and of being continuously in touch with British social elites (most of all thanks to his work at the Lyceum Theatre with Sir Henry Irving): his Irishness is evident both in his self-declared interest in Irish themes (he described himself as a "philosophical Home-Ruler") and in some of his fiction. This research concentrates on finding Irish elements and themes in his novels, short stories, articles and personal diaries, using them for a threefold purpose: first of all shedding more light on his Irishness; secondly, connecting his work to his biography; and, last but not least, expanding the knowledge academia has of his work, both fictional and non fictional, so that he may be seen as a full-rounded author, not just as the author of Dracula. Three novels and other materials have been selected for the analysis. The novels are The Snake's Pass (1890), which is Stoker's first and the only one to be set in Ireland; Dracula (1897), an unavoidable milestone in his literary production; and The Lady of the Shroud (1909), more overtly political and written towards the end of his life. Finding Irish elements and themes in The Snake's Pass is not difficult, as it is full of Irish characters, legends, place names, customs, etc. In addition to these easy-to-spot elements, this novel also offers a first glimpse of Stoker's idea of community and of what steps should be taken for the development of a rural area. In The Lady of the Shroud, similar solutions are applied to an imaginary land in the Balkans, which can be identified with Stoker's homeland, since the ideas about culture, identity and development here presented are quite similar to the ones expressed in The Snake's Pass and in some articles about Ireland written in the same years as The Lady of the Shroud. As regards Dracula, the connections, similarities and differences with the other two novels may help understand this famous novel more deeply than in the past and keep under scrutiny the development of Stoker's political ideas over time, since these three novels cover the two decades in which he devoted himself to writing on a more regular basis. Together with the novels, a short story has been selected ('The Primrose Path', which deals with emigration and alcoholism), two long articles dealing with Ireland ('The Great White Fair in Dublin' and 'The World's Greatest Shipbuilding Yard'), Stoker's private diaries, which have been recently made available through print, and other writings (e.g. an address to the Philosophical Society at Trinity College Dublin). Reference is also made to other novels, short stories, articles and private correspondence. All these materials provide more material for the analysis, which means not only collecting more evidence of his Irishness but also improving the analysis of the novels with factual information from his non fictional writings. As for methodology, major texts have been adopted for each topic (e.g. Diarmuid Ó Giolláin's Locating Irish Folklore. Tradition, Modernity, Identity for folklore or Roy Foster's Modern Ireland. 1600-1972 for history), but also texts, like for instance Benedict Anderson's Imagined Communities and Homi K. Bhabha's Nation and Narration, that are not directly related to Ireland but provide the tools to compare the ways in which communities and identities are formed in the real world with the ways they are formed in Stoker's fiction. One last tool used for the analysis of his fiction is his biography, which has been recently investigated (for instance by Paul Murray in 2004) more closely than in the past. As we know, Stoker was immersed in Irish life until he left for London, working for public administration at Dublin Castle and being a prominent member of Dublin's social life (for instance, he was one of the few people in the history of Trinity College Dublin to hold both the position of President of the Philosophical Society and that of Auditor of the Historical Society, he was a regular at the Wildes' literary salon on Merrion Square, he was a well-known athlete in local sports competitions, etc.). After he left Ireland, he continued being interested in Irish life and politics, as is clear from his discussing Irish problems with W. E. Gladstone, his participation in the National Literary Society founded in London, and so on. Together with his personal diaries, his biography, in addition to performing the obvious task of providing information about Irish aspects in his life, can also be a useful tool for shedding more light on his fiction.
L'apertura e il diritto dei bambini a sapere sulla loro provenienza genetica sono diventate questioni chiave nei dibattiti circa l'adozione e un significativo cambiamento verso la trasparenza ha preso luogo nel contesto politico italiano. Ma l'ipotesi sulla possibilità di adozione aperta trova ancora vincoli e limitazioni evidenti nella legge di adozione italiana, che tutela il diritto della madre all'anonimato, anziché il diritto di origine e l'identità dei bambini. Tuttavia, recenti ricerche hanno dimostrato l'importanza di parlare attraverso l'apertura in caso di adozione, vale a dire l'atteggiamento della vita familiare a comunicare con onestà e sincerità riguardo la biologia e biografia dei propri figli. ; Openness and children's 'right to know' about their genetic background have become key issues in debates about adoption and a significant shift towards transparency has taken place in Italian policy frameworks. But the hypothesis about feasibility of open adoption finds still evident constraints and limitations in the Italian adoption law, which protects the right of mother to anonymity rather than children's right to origin and identity. Nevertheless, recent researches have showed the importance of talking through openness in adoption, namely attitude of family life at communicate with honesty and sincerity about biology and biography of own children.
A major factor in Müller's work originating in her traumatic experiences in Ceauşescu's Romania is the aversion she shows to all forms of authoritarian and totalitarian rule. Despite the undeniable importance of the political dimension, it would be one-sided to concentrate only on this part of Müller's writing. In fact, the reader is enriched by the precise observation and the unflinching honesty in the portrayals of the surroundings and the self, conveyed by the author's consummate artistry. The defining feature of her work is rather the way she develops an original and powerful style out of writing on the basis of her biographical experiences. The reader thus finds himself confronted with 'autofiction', or rather, 'surfiction' (R. Federman), i.e. with the fictionalization and the transfiguration of lived experience through writing, which both allows and facilitates access to a certain truth. Moreover, Müller focuses her attention on the kind of experience that reveals life itself as a fiction. While acknowledging that truth reached through creative imagination is 'truer' than truth constructed mimetically in reference to facts (representation), Müller stresses that a truly fictional discourse can only be self-reflexive. Genuine fiction constructs itself through self-destruction, constant suspicion of its fictiousness.
The recent book La meritocrazia by Salvatore Cingari is the most in-depth attempt so far, not only in Italy, to reconstruct the debate between supporters and critics – intellectuals and politicians – of the meritocracy. The countries most closely studied are Great Britain, United States, Italy and France. The book narrates that the word «meritocracy» was coined in England in the second half of the fifties with a meaning which is just the opposite of that implied by the common sense: pejorative, distopyc, satiric, antiegualitarian, sexist. Then the book narrates that the original meaning of the word has been completely reversed, first of all in the States of the sixties and seventies, and has become synonimous, at the same time, of efficiency, equality, justice. This reversed meaning of the common sense is paradoxical, because quite often those who invoke more meritocracy do not realise that they are not invoking more legality or honesty, but more inequality, maybe at one's own expense ; Il recente libro La meritocrazia di Salvatore Cingari è il tentativo finora più ampio, non solo in Italia, di ricostruire il dibattito fra sostenitori e critici – intellettuali e politici - della meritocrazia. I Paesi studiati più da vicino sono Gran Bretagna, Stati Uniti, Italia e Francia. Il libro racconta che la parola «meritocrazia» è stata coniata in Inghilterra nella seconda metà degli anni Cinquanta con un significato che è esattamente l'opposto di quello del senso comune: spregiativo, distopico, satirico, antiegualitario, sessista. Quindi il libro narra che il significato originario della parola è stato completamente ribaltato, prima di tutto negli Stati uniti degli anni Sessanta e Settanta, ed è divenuto sinonimo, allo stesso tempo, di efficienza, eguaglianza, giustizia. Questo significato rovesciato del senso comune è paradossale perché molto spesso coloro che invocano più meritocrazia non si rendono conto di invocare non più legalità o onestà, ma più diseguaglianza, magari a proprie spese.
Southern immigration in Turin in Italy in the economic miracle. The case of Sardinia during the season of Rinascita. The aims of this work to analyze the Italian migration phenomenon during the 1950s and 1960s of the twentieth century. Italian emigration was a social phenomenon of great importance in the Italian society and the analysis of the history of migration in its various economic, social and political, he joined the Italian national history. It is a known fact that Italy was a nation of great emigration from the nineteenth century to the present day and therefore in the following work I have tried to reconstruct the history of Italian emigration during the second world war. This topic is devoted the first chapter of this work. At the end of World War II, Italy was a poor and agricultural nation and the lack of jobs pushed the Italians to emigrate to Europe and northern Italy to obtain better living conditions. The emigration of Italian workers was at the base of Italian foreign policy and the President of the Italian Government Alcide De Gasperi, who shook economic agreements with European countries to encourage the emigration of the Italian workforce. After the catastrophe of Marcinelle the emigration to northern Italy (more precisely to the city of Turin) represented an important alternative to emigration to Europe. Immigration to the city of Turin is dedicated the second chapter of this work. The city of Turin during the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century was hit by a large flow of migrants coming from southern Italy. Italians from southern Italy went to Turin to look for a job, a home and a better future. With immigration in Turin were born numerous problems: immigrants were living in old houses in the historic center of Turin, were heavy jobs that did not guarantee good living conditions, also the relationship between Italians from southern Italy and the Turin population were very difficult. After analyzing the Southern Italian Immigration in Turin, in the third chapter of this work, I have tried to describe the events and stories of the many Sardinian arrived in Turin during the fifties and sixties of the twentieth century to look for a job and better living conditions. The Sardinians in Turin managed to integrate into the city and were praised for their qualities of honesty, hard work, seriousness and for their intellectual abilities.
La tesi analizza i principi generali del diritto privato europeo, così come elaborati nei principali progetti di uniformazione quali la Proposta di Regolamento su un diritto comune europeo della vendita, il Draft Common Frame of Reference, il Code Européen des Contrats. Finalità dell'analisi è quella di verificare se essi, quali valori comuni posti a fondamento degli ordinamenti giuridici europei, trovino o meno effettiva rispondenza nelle scelte di ordine politico-strutturale adottate dalle Istituzioni comunitarie. L'analisi viene svolta in un'ottica di raffronto tra: a) la Proposta di Regolamento su un diritto comune europeo della vendita, presentata dalla Commissione europea al Parlamento ed al Consiglio con la Comunicazione 11 ottobre 2011 n.635; b) il Draft Common Frame of Reference (Bozza di Quadro Comune di Riferimento) presentato tra il 2008 ed il 2009 da una rete di esperti incaricata dalla Commissione europea di redigere un quadro regolatorio di principi, definizioni e regole modello del diritto contrattuale; c) il Code Européen des Contrats, realizzato dall' Accademia dei Giusprivatisti Europei, da applicarsi ai contratti tra imprenditori, a quelli tra consumatori ed a quelli tra imprenditore e consumatore. Caratteristica del progetto dell'Accademia è che l'opera armonizzatrice si fonda sull'utilizzo di una tecnica di stampo legislativo e conseguente elaborazione non di principi indeterminati ma di regole vere e proprie. Vengono esaminati in particolare i principi generali del diritto contrattuale quali l'autonomia contrattuale, la buona fede e la correttezza, ed il principio di collaborazione. La prima, strettamente connessa alla natura opzionale della proposta presentata dalla Commissione europea, starebbe a fondamento della scelta delle parti dello strumento regolativo da applicare alla negoziazione. Il medesimo principio viene sancito anche dal Code Europeèn des Contrats art. 2 e dal DCFR art. II.-1:102: le parti godono dunque della libertà di determinare il contenuto del contratto o di consentire ad un terzo di determinarlo e altresì stabilire che gli effetti del contratto si dispieghino verso un soggetto non coinvolto nell'attività di negoziazione. Tra i principi generali rileva quello della buona fede, e del suo corollario della trasparenza del contenuto contrattuale, regola fondamentale dell'acquis communautaire. Nel Code il dovere di correttezza è disciplinato dall'art. 6, dove si ha specifico riguardo alla condotta delle parti durante le trattative precontrattuali. Il dovere di informazione, puntualmente disciplinato dal Code all'art. 7, trova applicazione nel corso delle trattative ma anche dopo l'eventuale conclusione del contratto, Il principio viene affermato in via generale anche dal DCFR all'art. I.-1:103, Book I, dove con buona fede e correttezza si intende uno standard di condotta connotata da onestà, chiarezza e considerazione degli interessi della controparte della trattativa o del rapporto in questione. Il dovere di osservare un comportamento conforme a buona fede è in particolare sancito dal DCFR, nel capitolo 3, Book II, «Marketing and pre-contractual duties», rispetto alle trattative individuali, e nella Section 4 del capitolo 9, Book II, con riferimento alle clausole vessatorie. La proposta di Regolamento per un diritto comune sulla vendita, dopo aver introdotto in forma generale il principio di buona fede e correttezza (art. 2), ne disciplina il momento applicativo nella fase delle trattative precontrattuali. Il Capo II, della Parte II, avente ad oggetto la disciplina della conclusione di un contratto vincolante, è infatti intitolato «Informazioni precontrattuali». Rilievo particolare assume anche il dovere di collaborazione tra le parti, sancito in via generale dall'art. 3 della Proposta di regolamento e dall'art. III.-1.104 del DCFR. La verifica dell'effettiva operatività dei principi generali è oggetto di valutazione anche allo scopo di consentire la corretta interpretazione teleologica del corpus normativo di cui essi si pongono a fondamento. Viene, dunque, accertato se oltre alla finalità di miglioramento delle condizioni per l'instaurazione e per il funzionamento del mercato interno, siano riscontrabili – in base ad esigenze solidaristiche, ispirate ad un criterio di giustizia sociale - anche esigenze di tutela dei soggetti cd. Deboli del mercato (consumatori e PMI). In tal senso, il concetto di principio generale viene associato, nel diritto europeo dei contratti, al concetto di diritto fondamentale: così ad esempio il Draft Common Frame of Reference, che dedica un intero capitolo del Libro II al diritto/principio di non discriminazione. Viene infine esaminata la problematica centrale del legislatore attuale, quella cioè di realizzare un diretto collegamento tra i principi ordinanti del diritto dei contratti ed i diritti fondamentali, contenuti dalla Carta europea dei diritti fondamentali. Tre sono le possibilità messe in luce dalla dottrina: a) realizzazione di un diretto richiamo, senza l'esplicita riproduzione di essi; b) interpretazione/applicazione dei testi di diritto privato europeo alla luce di tali principi così come previsti dalla Carta europea dei diritti fondamentali; c) considerazione dei principi fondamentali quali norme imperative. In quest'ultima ipotesi tali norme sarebbero oggetto di futura applicazione. L'analisi sarà approfondita dalla riflessione sul recente progetto di codice civile e commerciale argentino, presentato nel marzo 2012. L'idea offerta dal progetto menzionato è di particolare interesse in vista del processo di unificazione attualmente in corso in Sud America, solo per alcuni aspetti simile a quello europeo. ; The thesis analyzes the general principles of European private law elaborated in the uniformization projects of European contract law such as the Proposal for a Regulation on a Common European Sales Law, the Draft Common Frame of Reference, the Code Européen des Contrats. The purpose of the analysis is to check if these principles, as common values of European legal systems, are in compliance with the policies and structural choices adopted by UE Institutions. The analysis is carried out comparing: - the Proposal for a Regulation on a Common European Sales Law - (hereinafter CESL), presented by the European Commission to the European Parliament and the Council with the Communication of 11th October 2011 n. 635; - the Draft Common Frame of Reference, presented between 2008 and 2009 by a networks of experts appointed by the European Commission to draw up a toolbox and a frame of reference containing principles, definitions and model rules of European contract law; - the Code Européen des Contrats, presented by the Academy of European Private Lawyers. The project should to be applied to B2B contracts, to C2C contracts and to B2C contracts. The Code's peculiarity is that the harmonization is not based on vague and undetermined principles, but rather on the use of a legislative type technique which allows for proposing clear, determined rules. Specific principles, such as freedom of contract, good faith and fairness, cooperation are analyzed. The freedom of contract, strictly connected with the optional nature of Proposal of the CESL, is the basic principle of the parties choice to determine the regulatory instrument of their contract. The same principle is also laid down in the Code Européen des Contrats art. 2 and in art. II.-1: 102 DCFR. The parties can determine the content of the contract, or exercise their freedom to allow a third party to determine the content or they can choose to direct the effects of the contract to a person not involved in it. Between general principles of European contract law detects the good faith, and its corollary the transparency of the contractual content, fundamental rule of the acquis communautaire. In the Code Europèen des Contrats, the general principles of fairness is established by the art. 6, on the precontractual duties. The duty to disclose, governed by art. 7, is applied during the negotiations but even after the conclusion of the contract. The same principles is established by art. I.-1:103, Book I, DCFR, where good faith and fairness are conduct standard characterized by honesty, clarity and consideration of the interests of the other party in the contractual relationship. The duty of good faith is established by the DCFR, in Chapter 3, Book II, "Marketing and pre-contractual duties" with regard to individual negotiations, and in Section 4 of Chapter 9, Book II, with regard to the unfair terms. The CESL introduces the general principle of good faith with its art. 2, setting specific application in precontractual duties in Part II, Chapter 2, about «Precontractual information». Particular attention should have the cooperation, established by art. 3 of the CESL and by art. III.-1104 of the DCFR. The check of effectiveness of general principles is aimed to allow a teleological interpretation of the set of rules, in which they are incorporated. It's necessary clarify if, in addition to the purpose of improving the conditions for the establishment of the internal market, is possible to comply - on the basis of a solidarity inspired by a social justice criteria - also the needs of protect for the weak subjects of internal market. In this sense, the concept of the general principle is associated, in European contract law, to the concept of fundamental right, as well as in the Draft Common Frame of Reference, where is possible to find a specific chapter of Book II on right / principle of non-discrimination. Finally, the thesis examines the central question of the current legislature, that is how to create a direct link between the principles of contract law and fundamental rights, as referred to by the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. The academics highlight three possibilities: a) a direct reference, without the explicit reproduction of them; b) interpretation / application of the texts of European private law in the light of these principles as laid down in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights; c) qualification of fundamental principles as mandatory rules, necessarily to be applied.The analysis will be deepened by reflection on the recent project of argentine civil and commercial code, presented in March 2012. The idea offered by the mentioned project is of particular interest in view of the unification process currently in South America, only in some respects similar to the European one.
The rational construction of the house. The writings and projects of Giuseppe Pagano Description, themes and research objectives The research aims at analysing the architecture of Giuseppe Pagano, which focuses on the theme of dwelling, through the reading of 3 of his house projects. On the one hand, these projects represent "minor" works not thoroughly known by Pagano's contemporary critics; on the other they emphasise a particular methodological approach, which serves the author to explore a theme closely linked to his theoretical thought. The house project is a key to Pagano's research, given its ties to the socio-cultural and political conditions in which the architect was working, so that it becomes a mirror of one of his specific and theoretical path, always in a state of becoming. Pagano understands architecture as a "servant of the human being", subject to a "utilitarian slavery" since it is a clear, essential and "modest" answer to specific human needs, free from aprioristic aesthetic and formal choices. It is a rational architecture in sensu stricto; it constitutes a perfect synthesis between cause and effect and between function and form. The house needs to accommodate these principles because it is closely intertwined with human needs and intimately linked to a specific place, climatic conditions and technical and economical possibilities. Besides, differently from his public and common masterpieces such as the Palazzo Gualino, the Istituto di Fisica and the Università Commerciale Bocconi, the house projects are representative of a precise project will, which is expressed in a more authentic way, partially freed from political influences and dogmatic preoccupations and, therefore, far from the attempt to research a specific expressive language. I believe that the house project better represents that "ingenuity", freshness and "sincerity" that Pagano identifies with the minor architecture, thereby revealing a more authentic expression of his understanding of a project. Therefore, the thesis, by tracing the theoretical research of Pagano through the analysis of some of his designed and built works, attempts to identify a specific methodological approach to Pagano's project, which, developed through time, achieves a certain clarity in the 1930s. In fact, this methodological approach becomes more evident in his last projects, mainly regarding the house and the urban space. These reflect the attempt to respond to the new social needs and, at the same time, they also are an expression of a freer idea of built architecture, closely linked with the place and with the human being who dwells it. The three chosen projects (Villa Colli, La Casa a struttura d'acciaio and Villa Caraccio) make Pagano facing different places, different customers and different economic and technical conditions, which, given the author's biography, correspond to important historical and political conditions. This is the reason why the projects become apparently distant works, both linguistically and conceptually, to the point that one can define them as "eclectic". However, I argue that this eclecticism is actually an added value to the architectural work of Pagano, steaming from the use of a method which, having as a basis the postulate of a rational architecture as essence and logic of building, finds specific variations depending on the multiple variables to be addressed by the project. This is the methodological heritage that Pagano learns from the tradition, especially that of the rural residential architecture, defined by Pagano as a "dictionary of the building logic of man", as an "a-stylistic background". For Pagano this traditional architecture is a clear expression of the relationships between a theme and its development, an architectural "fact" that is resolved with purely technical and utilitarian aims and with a spontaneous development far from any aprioristic theoretical principle. Architecture, therefore, cannot be an invention for Pagano and the personal contribution of each architect has to consider his/her close relationship with the specific historical context, place and new building methods. These are basic principles in the methodological approach that drives a great deal of his research and that also permits his thought to be modern. I argue that both ongoing and new collaborations with younger protagonists of the culture and architecture of the period are significant for the development of his methodology. These encounters represent the will to spread his own understanding of the "new architecture" as well as a way of self-renewal by confronting the self with new themes and realities and by learning from his collaborators. Thesis' outline The thesis is divided in two principal parts, each articulated in four chapters attempting to offer a new reading of the theory and work of Pagano by emphasising the central themes of the research. The first chapter is an introduction to the thesis and to the theme of the rational house, as understood and developed in its typological and technical aspects by Pagano and by other protagonists of the Italian rationalism of the 1930s. Here the attention is on two different aspects defining, according to Pagano, the house project: on the one hand, the typological renewal, aimed at defining a "standard form" as a clear and essential answer to certain needs and variables of the project leading to different formal expressions. On the other, it focuses on the building, understood as a technique to "produce" architecture, where new technologies and new materials are not merely tools but also essential elements of the architectural work. In this way the villa becomes different from the theme of the common house or from that of the minimalist house, by using rules in the choice of material and in the techniques that are every time different depending on the theme under exploration and on the contingency of place. It is also visible the rigorous rationalism that distinguishes the author's appropriation of certain themes of rural architecture. The pages of "Casabella" and the events of the contemporary Triennali form the preliminary material for the writing of this chapter given that they are primary sources to individuate projects and writings produced by Pagano and contemporary architects on this theme. These writings and projects, when compared, reconstruct the evolution of the idea of the rational house and, specifically, of the personal research of Pagano. The second part regards the reading of three of Pagano's projects of houses as a built verification of his theories. This section constitutes the central part of the thesis since it is aimed at detecting a specific methodological approach showing a theoretical and ideological evolution expressed in the vast edited literature. The three projects that have been chosen explore the theme of the house, looking at various research themes that the author proposes and that find continuity in the affirmation of a specific rationalism, focussed on concepts such as essentiality, utility, functionality and building honesty. These concepts guide the thought and the activities of Pagano, also reflecting a social and cultural period. The projects span from the theme of the villa moderna, Villa Colli, which, inspired by the architecture of North Europe, anticipates a specific rationalism of Pagano based on rigour, simplicity and essentiality, to the theme of the common house, Casa a struttura d'acciaio, la casa del domani, which ponders on the definition of new living spaces and, moreover, on new concepts of standardisation, economical efficiency and new materials responding to the changing needs of the modern society. Finally, the third project returns to the theme of the, Villa Caraccio, revisiting it with new perspectives. These perspectives find in the solution of the open plant, in the openness to nature and landscape and in the revisiting of materials and local building systems that idea of the freed house, which express clearly a new theoretical thought. Methodology It needs to be noted that due to the lack of an official Archive of Pagano's work, the analysis of his work has been difficult and this explains the necessity to read the articles and the drawings published in the pages of «Casabella» and «Domus». As for the projects of Villa Colli and Casa a struttura d'acciaio, parts of the original drawings have been consulted. These drawings are not published and are kept in private archives of the collaborators of Pagano. The consultation of these documents has permitted the analysis of the cited works, which have been subject to a more complete reading following the different proposed solutions, which have permitted to understand the project path. The projects are analysed thought the method of comparison and critical reading which, specifically, means graphical elaborations and analytical schemes, mostly reconstructed on the basis of original projects but, where possible, also on a photographic investigation. The focus is on the project theme which, beginning with a specific living (dwelling) typology, finds variations because of the historico-political context in which Pagano is embedded and which partially shapes his research and theoretical thought, then translated in the built work. The analysis of the work follows, beginning, where possible, from a reconstruction of the evolution of the project as elaborated on the basis of the original documents and ending on an analysis of the constructive principles and composition. This second phase employs a methodology proposed by Pagano in his article Piante di ville, which, as expected, focuses on the plant as essential tool to identify the "true practical and poetic qualities of the construction"(Pagano, «Costruzioni-Casabella», 1940, p. 2). The reading of the project is integrated with the constructive analyses related to the technical aspects of the house which, in the case of Casa a struttura d'acciaio, play an important role in the project, while in Villa Colli and in Villa Caraccio are principally linked to the choice of materials for the construction of the different architectural elements. These are nonetheless key factors in the composition of the work. Future work could extend this reading to other house projects to deepen the research that could be completed with the consultation of Archival materials, which are missing at present. Finally, in the appendix I present a critical selection of the Pagano's writings, which recall the themes discussed and embodied by the three projects. The texts have been selected among the articles published in Casabella and in other journals, completing the reading of the project work which cannot be detached from his theoretical thought. Moving from theory to project, we follow a path that brings us to define and deepen the central theme of the thesis: rational building as the principal feature of the architectural research of Pagano, which is paraphrased in multiple ways in his designed and built works.
