modi di essere
Master’s Thesis 2021
Terza Venexia
Cat. 2 [4]
“I
would endeavour to trace the lines of this image before it be for ever lost,
and to record, as far as I may, the warning which seems to me to be uttered by
every one of the fast-gaining waves, that beat like passing bells, against the
Stones of Venice.”
John Ruskin
John Ruskin
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Terza Venexia
From the very first moment in front of the sight of every traveler the city revealed its magnificence. Even from far away, one could recognize her hundreds of churches and bell towers, the endless passage of chimneys, arches and windows. The serenity of the island was embodied in her very physical expression, a sublime mirage for those coming from sea and land. Every ornament on her walls, columns and pillars was telling a story. Every stone was meant to be a message.
The exquisiteness, composed by the most gifted builders, was recognized by all of mankind. Over time, the spiritual value of what the eyes saw was not enough and man began to commodify what was thought to be of high value –the gorgeous palaces, the marvelous churches, fabulous scuole … For the blindness of man the futility of the effort to merchandise the incommensurable value of the surrounding was tenuous. With the years passing only the most beautiful was of importance, only what was meant to bring the highest profit. The rest was neglected, suffering and dissolving under the merciless influence of nature and time.
The risen sea-level and the ever-repeated occurrence of Acqua Alta, induced less by natural processes than by the numbness of humankind, had no mercy even on the most magnificent buildings of La Serenissima. The salty water was reaching higher and higher up the walls filled with centuries of history each time, silently destroying them.
This vicious circle of destruction had to end. The Cittadini programmed the Brain to monitor every part of the physical matter of the city – every building [no matter its importance], every canal [big and small], every bridge [made of marble or of wood] … Twice a day, in the early morning and in the late evening, the Matrix was scanning the whole city. All the information was then transmitted to the Brain for evaluation and archiving. By indication of a disturbance, the Brain designed a unique strategy for every specific issue. The Cittadini received the information and the generated preservation strategy. Following the strategy, they obtained the healing of the substance with materials, developed for the specific purpose based on the peculiarity of the city environment.
The preservation of a sound physical body of the Floating City was a duty for every Venetian. Each one of them had constant access to the collected data and control over the Brain and the Matrix. The preservation system followed the three great branches of architectural virtue - any building should: I. “act well, and do the things it was intended to do in the best way” II. “speak well, and say the things it was intended to say in the best words” III. “look well, and please us by its presence, whatever it has to do or to say.”
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