New Building in Old Cities: Writings by Gustavo Giovannoni on Architectural and Urban Conservation

The Getty Conservation Institute is pleased to announce the publication of New Building in Old Cities: Writings by Gustavo Giovannoni on Architectural and Urban Conservation edited by Steven W. Semes, Francesco Siravo, and Jeff Cody, and translated by Steven W. Semes.

The Italian architect, historian, and restorer Gustavo Giovannoni (1873–1947) was a key figure in the fields of architecture, urbanism, and conservation during the first half of the twentieth century. A traditionalist largely neglected by the proponents of modernist architecture following World War II, he remains little known internationally. His writings, however, until now unavailable in English, represent a significant step toward the full appreciation of the historic city, and his insights are directly relevant today to the protection of historic resources in urban contexts worldwide. 

This abundantly illustrated critical anthology is a representative sample of Giovannoni's seminal texts related to the appreciation, understanding, and planning of historic cities. The thirty readings, which appear with their original illustrations, are grouped thematically into six parts organized around key concepts in Giovannoni's conservation theory-urban building, respect for the setting or context, a thinning out of the urban fabric, conservation and restoration treatments, the grafting of the new upon the old, and reconstruction. Each part is preceded by an introduction, and each individual reading is prefaced by succinct remarks explaining the rationale for its selection and the principal matters covered. Six plate sections further illustrate the readings' main concepts and themes.

Steven W. Semes is an architect and professor at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture and director of its graduate program in historic preservation. Francesco Siravo is an Italian architect specializing in town planning and historic preservation. Jeff Cody is an architectural historian with a background in historic preservation planning. He was a senior project specialist at the Getty Conservation Institute from 2004 to 2022.

The book is available for purchase for US $75.