ABSTRACT
Both its neglect by architectural historians and its success as a residential environment may be explained by a single factor, which arose directly from the principles that underlay Rationalism, the specifically Northern Italian version of Modernism which developed from the 1930s on. These principles led Italian Modernism to be far more regionally specific and historically sympathetic than was usual in the Modern Movement, engendering an attractive appearance which resulted in its wide acceptance by the public. They also led, however, to the Italian contingent being denounced at the final CIAM meeting in 1956 as ‘historicist’, after which most Italian Modernist architecture and town planning was effectively excluded from the Modernist canon as published outside Italy. Yet what were grounds for criticism in the late 1950s – regional specificity and historical contextualism – have now acquired positive values, and give this scheme particular relevance within the current architectural debate.
