Amelia International Conservation Studies

Summer Semester, 2025
Mon, June 9 - Fri, July 4, 2025 (last two weeks)
Amelia, Italy
Meets daily: Monday – Friday, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
after the (survey tech) co-requisite lecture 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Afternoon Workshop: Monday - Friday, 2:00 PM - 6:00 PM (4 weeks)
Students will be divided into two groups. Group 2 will meet in sketching and Group 1 will meet in the survey tech course. For the second two weeks, Group 1 and 2 will switch.
Location: Various places in the Historical Center
Lead Instructor: Lorenzo Fei

Course Description:

The lectures focus on the history of architecture in Italy, including those building cultures that influenced its development, including cultures which are beyond the national borders. The course explores the evolution of key structural systems (e.g., masonry, vaults, domes, trusses), traditional building techniques, and construction processes, highlighting their application in architectural types across historical periods.

The afternoon workshop involves the analysis and documentation of historic buildings in the medieval core of Amelia. Participants use freehand sketching (pencil/pen/watercolor, etc. on paper) to document these buildings, a method that fosters deeper understanding through a detailed, time-consuming, and thorough process. Students also receive basic instruction in freehand drawing techniques.

Summary of Lecture Content:

1) Presentation of the course and program of lectures.

2) Tour of Amelia.

3) Rome

• Building techniques:
o Masonry

4) Rome

• Building techniques:
o Vaults and domes

5) Kingdom Age
o The origins of the city

• Republican Age
o The Forum
o The Basilica
o The Tabularium
o Sacred architecture
o Early circuses
o Horrea or warehouses
o The Amphitheaters
o Residential architecture

• Augustan Age
o The Monumental Gardens
o Evolution of tombs: the Mausoleum

• Imperial Age
o Process of Romanization of the colonies: the infrastructure
o The theater and amphitheater
o The triumphal arches
o The Baths
o Circuses and stadiums

• Trajan: Imperial Forums and Markets

• Hadrian: Pantheon, Hadrian's Villa and Mausoleum

• The Antonian and Severian ages

6) The Late Antique

• Building techniques:
o Development of reticular trusses
o Masonry in opus mixtum

• Evolution and development of new architectural types
o Imperial palaces and the domus
o Late antique villas
o The domus ecclesiae
o Catacombs and cemeteries
o The baths and temples

• The Age of Constantine
o Birth of the Christian basilica
o Circiform basilicas and mausoleums
o Roman basilicas
o Churches with a central plan
o Baptistries

• The end of the Empire
o Milan and Ravenna

7) The early Middle Ages and the barbarian kingdoms in Italy

• Rome

• Ostrogothic Italy

• Ravenna and the age of Theodoric

• The Lombards in Italy

• Visigothic Spain

• Mozarabic Spain

• Franks and Merovingians
o The monasteries

• Rome in the Carolingian Age

8) Byzantine architecture

• Building techniques:
o Masonry
o Vaults
o Domes on pendentives

9) Constantinople, the new Rome

• Justinian's commissions

• Ravenna

• Southern Italy

10) Romanesque architecture

• Building techniques:
o Pointed arch
o Groin vaults with ribs

• The early Romanesque

• Territories of the Holy Roman Empire

• Northern Italy

• France and Catalonia

11) The mature Romanesque

• The Lombardy- Padana area

• The Venetian Lagoon

• Central Italy

• Rome

• Apulian Romanesque

• Arab-Norman Sicily

12) Gothic architecture

• Building techniques:
o Arches, vaults, flying buttresses and pinnacles

• Origin of Gothic: L'Ile de France

• Italy and Umbria

• Venice

• Siena

• Milan

13) Late Gothic architecture

• Catalonia and Aragon

• Sardinia

14) The Italian Renaissance

• Building techniques:
o Domes and tie-rods in masonry

• The fifteenth century: Tuscany, Marche, Veneto and Lombardy

• Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti, Francesco di Giorgio Martini, Bramante and Leonardo
o The architectural treatises

• The Florentine urban palace

• The ideal city

15) The early sixteenth century

• Rome
o Bramante, Raffaello, Baldassarre Peruzzi

• The new basilica of St. Peter's

• The Roman palace

16) Mannerism and the Catholic Reformation

• Rome: Giulio Romano, Michelangelo and Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola

• Florence: Vasari

• Veneto: Palladio

• The Italian garden

• The reformed church: new design requirements

17) The Roman Baroque

• Building techniques
o Borromini and the reinterpretation of ancient models

• The great aristocratic families and the transformation of the city

• Baroque design principles: straight streets, squares, and backdrops

• The great protagonists: Borromini, Bernini and Pietro da Cortona

18) The Eighteenth century, the Age of Enlightenment

• Manuals and Treatises
o New material load test procedures

19) Rome in the Nineteenth Century

• Building techniques
o Pre-modern treatises and manuals

20) Site visit

• Cathedral of St. Francesco of Assisi

• Perugia

Student Learning Outcomes:

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• Identify and analyze historic buildings and their settings.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the evolution of building typologies, architectural styles, traditional building materials, structural systems, and construction methods.
• Develop analytical skills through methodical observation and documentation of historic structures.
• Communicate effectively through sketching observations and analysis of buildings

Format:
Lectures are mostly dedicated to the presentation of material, with some time for questions and answers.
Workshop includes time to carry out sketching assignments, instruction on sketching techniques, individual and collective reviews.

Useful Tools:
Sketchbook, transparent paper, drawing tools (pencils, sharpener, eraser, pens, watercolor pencils, watercolors, markers, compass, ruler, squares, etc.), notepad, tape measure, laptop computer, digital camera.

Useful Skills:
Freehand drawing, digital photography.

Recommended Readings:
The following reading list provides some resources, and participants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the titles and authors listed. Many of these titles are available online. English-language titles and some foreign-language titles have been included in the reading list. Those who are proficient in other languages are especially encouraged to explore literature not available in English.

Sources in English:

Roman Architecture and building techniques

• John Bryan Ward-Perkins, Roman Imperial Architecture, Boston: Yale University Press 1981

Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture and building techniques

• Richard Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine architecture, New York: Penguin Books, 1979

Romanesque and Gothic Architecture and building techniques

• Paul Frankl, The gothic Architecture, New Haven: Yale University Press 2000

Italian Renaissance Architecture and building techniques

• Christy Anderson, Renaissance Architecture, Oxford: Oxford University Press 2013

Baroque Architecture and building techniques

• Andrew Hopkins, Italian architecture: from Michelangelo to Borromini, London – New York: Thames & Hudson 2022

Grading:

You will be graded on the correct number and type of sketches for your structure (plans, elevations, details, etc.), completeness, and quality of draftsmanship.

Work will be evaluated holistically according to the course assignments. Attendance, active participation in class discussions, and general conduct will also be considered in grading. Since students often present varied previous education and experience, this, too, will be taken into consideration. Ultimately, a student’s grade reflects how well he or she has fulfilled the requirements of this syllabus.

Grading scale:

A 95% - 100%: Truly exceptional work, meets or exceeds the highest expectations of the course.

A- 90% - 94%: Outstanding, superior work in all areas of the course.

B+ 87% - 89%: Very good, superior work in most areas of the course.

B 83% - 86%: Good, solid work across the board.

B- 80% - 82%: More than acceptable but falls short of solid work.

C+ 77% - 79%: Acceptable, meets all the basic requirements and standards for the course.

C 73% - 76%: Acceptable, meets most of the basic requirements and standards in several

areas.

C- 70% - 72%: While acceptable, work falls short of meeting basic standards in several areas.

D 60% - 69%: Minimally passing work, just over the threshold of acceptability.

F Below 60%: Failing, unacceptable work.

Grading Policy

The grading breaks down as follows:

Final examination 40%

Participation 30%

Contribution to class discussions 30%

Attendance

Daily attendance in lecture and workshop components is expected. If you miss class for any reason, please email the professor immediately.

Assignments / Exam

Produce 10 sheets (A2) of sketches: five give a general description of the building and five present details, components and analytical diagrams.

Late Assignment Policy

Unexcused late assignments will be marked down one-half letter grade. Students should discuss with the professor beforehand any reason for anticipated late submission and specify when submission will occur.

Must be taken with the following co-requisite:
Surveying Methods in Architecture: From Measuring Tape to Laser Scanning