Preservation and Creation: Alfonso Rubbiani and Bologna

Between the 1880s and World War I, Alfonso Rubbiani transformed the medieval core of Bologna, using literary sources and architectural fragments to create an exquisite corpse of modern and medieval fabric. Rubbiani was a journalist and a member of the circle of the poet Giosué Carducci, and he encouraged the local Arts and Crafts Movement, Aemilia Ars, and worked with architects and craftspeople to imagine a city that was more medieval than the original. While some of this work involved hard-fought efforts to preserve buildings, Rubbiani just as often took liberties, altering the post-Napoleonic built environment with a free hand. In spite of his importance to preservation practice, Rubbiani today remains obscure to an English-speaking audience. This article frames his 1879 essay "Le case dei borghesi" (The houses of the bourgeoisie) in the context of his restoration work in Bologna.