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Beginning in the 15th century, the reconstruction of Venetian state communal palaces, which served as the institutional seats of the city councils and judiciaries, was often seen as an opportunity for civic magistrates, along at times with Venetian officers, to develop plans to renovate their cities. These projects often led to the enlargement of central districts and to the transformation of cities’ roads and squares. I look at communal palaces from across the Venetian territorial state, focusing on Treviso, which clearly elucidates how the modification of public buildings often led to a redefinition of central urban space. An array of mostly unpublished drawings proposing urban redevelopment projects that were not always realised are key to reconstructing the city’s history, demonstrating better than other documents how communal palaces have enhanced its fabric.

By challenging the traditional, typological, approach to the history of town halls, we aim to place Italian civic architecture at the center of a cross-disciplinary study focused, on one hand, on the uses and functions of these buildings, and on the other, on their cultural and identity meanings. The papers gathered in this special collection do not present a history of architectural models and persistencies, but rather one of continuous transformations, conversions, and adaptations, shaped by the material and symbolic functions that public buildings fulfilled, and often continue to fulfill, in the places where they were built.

The need to digitize data as an analysis tool is increasingly a topical issue, also because it is a tool of common interest for several disciplines. This new research merges with the iNEST project (Interconnected Nord-Est Innovation Ecosystem), referring in particular to Spoke 4: city, architecture and sustainable design, which aims at extending the beneficial effects of digitalization to the areas of “Nord-Est” Italy. The project started in August 2022 and will end in August 2025. Knowing that the trend of urbanization, metropolis living, and climate change is related to psychologically stressful situations as a result of environmental stressors, this research aims to analyze if living in a place surrounded by natural and valuable artificial elements (i.e., historical architecture, art) is crucial in generating health and psychophysical well-being. This paper presents the case study of Piazzola sul Brenta, a small town in the Veneto region on which a territorial analysis was carried out to understand the existing dynamics between the natural and artificial environment, using the literature and historical maps. Since this research began recently, with only preliminary and partial results so far, this paper focuses on the interdisciplinary discussion developed around this topic, showing the first part of a research that aims to create models of urban and landscape contexts that enable in-depth analysis and the prefiguration of strategies for regeneration.

Hopkins, O. A review of Maureen Cassidy-Geiger (ed.), Living with Architecture as Art: The Peter W. May Collection of Architectural Drawings, Models, and Artefacts. London: Ad Ilissvm, 2021. Svalduz, E. A Review of Martin Gaier and Wolfgang Wolters, eds., Dilettanti di architettura nella Venezia del Cinquecento. Venice: Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti, 2020. Kuenzli, K. A review of Mark Wigley, Konrad Wachsmann’s Television: Post-architectural Transmissions. Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2020. Antonucci, M. A review of Dario Donetti, Francesco da Sangallo e l’identità dell’architettura toscana. Rome: Officina Libraria, 2020. Williams, S. A review of Zoltán Somhegyi, Reviewing the Past: The Presence of Ruins. London: Rowman & Littlefield International Ltd., 2020.