Vedute dal mare: da Schinkel a Le Corbusier

The representations of cities viewed from the sea are very ancient. Yet even in the modern age, these types of images of urban centers and their architectural emergencies were privileged by travellers. Not only because a rapid and comfortable trip was possible, but also because the slow approach to the coast allowed an overview of the city and its environmental insertion. Many architects arrived by boat to Naples. Schinkel reached Amalfi on a ship. Le Corbusier affirmed that only ships, airplanes and walking allowed travellers to produce "human visions" – contrary to the "inhuman and infernal" visions offered by trains and autos. The iconography of cities seen from the sea is characterized by a greater objectivity, a more detached vision and a wish to connect territory, inhabited centers and landscape. Through the analysis of these historical images and the numerous sketches realized by Le Corbusier during his trips, the paper aims to analyze this type of representation that often translates a difference of purposes and approaches to urban places.