Sebastiano Ittar, architetto: archeologia disegno, città progetto

Abstract

This research, that was made possible thanks to the recent reorganization of the Ittar Fund at the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage of Catania, concerns the use of drawing as a method for understanding the relationship between the ancient fragment and the city. At the beginning of his career, the scarcely known architect Sebastiano Ittar (1768‑1847) used drawing as a tool to study the archaeological fragments he visited during his trips in the Mediterranean. In 1832, instead, Ittar conceived the well-known topographical plan of the city of Catania that was based on the concept of fragments as what remains of archaeological evidence. The last element considered in the article is the relationship between the archaeological fragments and the city as a source of creative architectural inspiration. Ittar’s project for Palazzo Scuderi-Bonaccorso is investigated in comparison with his sketches of an ancient Roman spa building, with the aim of demonstrating that for him archeology was not just a fruitful subject of study, but even a fertile source of inspiration.