Evoking the New City investigates urban space and the meaning of ‘the new’ in Milan from the end of World War II and through the ‘economic miracle’, a period full of both breaks and continuities. Budzynski sheds light on issues of memory and modernity, image and space, architecture and representation. The transformational possibilities of the North Italian metropolis were palpably present in post-war Milan: architects looked to the future, projecting an ideal city onto the pre-existing one that had been heavily damaged during World War II, while also looking back at modern architecture’s relatively young tradition in Italy, simultaneously reordering its narratives. Concentrating on three major elements of the new city – skyscrapers, housing and city planning – this study approaches Milan as an ideal city of the postwar period, as seen through architecture, film and print media.
Scott Joseph Budzynski received a PhD in art history and criticism from Stony Brook University and now lives between Berlin and Savannah, USA. He specializes in modern and contemporary art and architecture with an interest in the wider interdisciplinary nature and history of cities. His current writing concentrates on the themes of memory, modernity and representation in urban spaces in post-war Europe. He is currently professor of art history at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
