by Jon Lackman | 2 March 2006 | Architecture
Reviewing La Bellezza della Città: Stadtrecht und Stadtgestaltung im Italien des Mittelalters und der Renaissance for CAA Reviews, Areli Marina writes: “the last decade has brought an explosion of new research not only on medieval and Renaissance urbanism in Italy but also in the history of Italian jurisprudence … the essays in this book contextualize the production, function, and reception of statute books and related legal sources, as well as demonstrate the relationship between legal texts and the built environment … La Bellezza della Città invites readers to explore how local interpretations of the desire for order and, eventually, beauty affected the physical form of specific cities and landscapes, above and beyond the mere desire for straight streets and dry squares. Perhaps it will inspire its audience to investigate these phenomena in the peninsula’s less-studied cities, enhancing understanding of this vital but still misunderstood period in Italian urban design.”
