ABSTRACT
In the global age, two of the most important issues regarding the identity of contemporary architecture are the quest for a national direction and the relationship with the past. Modern Italian architecture is an example of how the relationship between history and design can influence the development of national identity. This chapter discusses some deep-lying and irreversible changes that have taken place over the last 20 years. They were brought on by the convergence of three phenomena, whose importance is still difficult to gauge. The first is the advent of globalization, which has completely re-drawn the pattern of world politics, economies and cultures, triggering frantic competition, not only among states but also among metropoles, each of which, like Shanghai, is aiming to achieve international renown. The second is the information technology revolution, which has brought about the passage from the Vitruvian tectonic paradigm, to a type of construction based on the continuity of surfaces which are both load-bearing and contoured.
