Architectural language in urban vernacular architecture. An example about building traditions and distinctive features of historical architecture in Ferrara

This contribution gives a brief summary of the research on the theme of architectural language in the Italian urban vernacular architecture. The goal is to understand the possible sources from which linguistic and technological innovation develops and circulates as well as the use of models which popular construction refers to in order to update its language. In vernacular architecture, this language is an expression of a community and it is an integral part of the process that in the past set the building transformations. This goal can be reached through a critical reading and analysis of the formal results which are still visible in architectural structures – in particular on the façades - that are common to a wide variety of solutions and that, as such, are representative of the “way of building” and “building attitude” of a community. I’m going to illustrate part of the results of the first part of this research applied to a very specific context such as the Italian Po valley, one of the three fundamental physical features that characterize the geographical aspect of the Italian peninsula, and in particular the historical city of Ferrara.