Francesca Zanella

Milan 1881. The instruments of representation: Architecture ordination arrangement FRANCESCA ZANELLA The analysis of the 2nd Italian Industrial Exhibition, held in Milan in 1881, constitutes an important case study for the comprehension of the role architectural project and arrangement in a crucial phase of transition for Italian culture. The architecture of the ‘palaces of industry’ has been studied before as a construction-site of modernity, of technological experimentation and of formation of the new language of United Italy. In this article, the author tries, through the testimony offered by the press and the official sources, but also through archived documents, to trace the planning strategies for the event, the different actors and the meaning behind the design of sites and the exhibiting techniques. The study allowed to figure out the times and ways of definition of the complex of buildings for the exhibition, the relationship between the classification issues and the organization of the areas, the dialogue between the stylistic choices of architect Ceruti and the cultural profile of his interlocutors in the Executive Committee, with particular focus on some highlights of the exhibition path, such as the Sala Pompeiana and the Rotonda della Ceramica.