The essay investigates the relationship between architectural design and memory, taking the Castle of Maddaloni as a case study to reflect on the role of history in the practice and teaching of architectural design. Starting from the idea of the city as a morphological and symbolic palimpsest, the essay analyzes how historical structures − material, geographical, and figurative − constitute a structural condition for design action. Maddaloni Castle, a fortified complex of Longobard origin, represents an emblematic case for understanding how a historical artifact can function as a territorial and urban device, capable of structuring visual, spatial, and infrastructural relationships that persist over time. Its commanding position on the ridge of a hill spur in the Tifatini Mountains, its relationship with the historical axes of Campania, and its foundational role in local settlement processes make it a generative element of contemporary urban form. The analytical and design experimentation conducted within the Architectural Composition II course highlighted how the castle, despite being affected by abandonment and discontinuity, continues to constitute an active morphological and symbolic matrix, capable of guiding design as an exercise in critical continuity. The research results show how memory − understood as the persistence of forms, territorial structures, and narratives − can be transformed into an operative resource, helping to define a new relationship between past and future in the city.
Design and Memory. Reflections and Design Research on the Castle of Maddaloni
Felice DE SILVA
2026
Abstract
The essay investigates the relationship between architectural design and memory, taking the Castle of Maddaloni as a case study to reflect on the role of history in the practice and teaching of architectural design. Starting from the idea of the city as a morphological and symbolic palimpsest, the essay analyzes how historical structures − material, geographical, and figurative − constitute a structural condition for design action. Maddaloni Castle, a fortified complex of Longobard origin, represents an emblematic case for understanding how a historical artifact can function as a territorial and urban device, capable of structuring visual, spatial, and infrastructural relationships that persist over time. Its commanding position on the ridge of a hill spur in the Tifatini Mountains, its relationship with the historical axes of Campania, and its foundational role in local settlement processes make it a generative element of contemporary urban form. The analytical and design experimentation conducted within the Architectural Composition II course highlighted how the castle, despite being affected by abandonment and discontinuity, continues to constitute an active morphological and symbolic matrix, capable of guiding design as an exercise in critical continuity. The research results show how memory − understood as the persistence of forms, territorial structures, and narratives − can be transformed into an operative resource, helping to define a new relationship between past and future in the city.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
