Utopia In Uncertainty

On the occasion of this special issue of Utopian Studies dedicated to archi tecture, I have translated one of the Eugenio Battisti's last pieces concerning both utopianism and architecture. This is the first published English transla tion of this piece, which was initially presented at the Second International Congress for Utopian Studies held May 21-25, 1986, in the Italian cities of Rome, Ravello and Reggio Calabria. The version translated here was pub lished in 1989, the year of Battisti's death, in the conference proceedings. Utopia has, in one way or another, long been a part of Italian architec tural thinking. The late Manfredo Tafuri and Aldo Rossi were well-known contemporary Italian architectural theorists who considered themselves stu dents of Utopian ideas. Eugenio Battisti, a brilliant and original architectural historian, is far less known among American architects yet fundamental in developing Utopian studies both within Italy and internationally. Battisti came to architectural history by an unusual route: radio broad casting and theater. He had taken part in the Italian resistance from the age of fifteen, but he refused to profit from his wartime activities in the post-war reorganization of the country. He chose instead to steer clear of direct politi cal involvement and to devote himself to scholarship. His interest in archi tecture evolved gradually during the post-war years as he continued his work on theater. During the early fifties he began to focus his attention and writing on architecture and art. In addition to his Rinascimento e Barocco (Renais sance and Baroque) and L 'antirinascimento (The Anti-Renaissance) he wrote hundreds of shorter works of interest to architects and historians of architecture.