GUARINO GUARINI E LA CHIESA DEI PADRI SOMASCHI A MESSINA

Guarino Guarini's plan for the Church of the Somascan Order in Messina is one of open issues in the historiographical literature dedicated to the famous architect from Modena. The fact that it was never realised and its features which are widely considered to be too "mature" for the beginnings of his career in Messina (presumably in the period between 1657 and 1662) have fuelled substantial doubts about its chronology and hence about its actual place in the time line of Guarini’s design experience especially with regard to the development of his unique ribbed domes. This article aims to answer these open questions, including through novel arguments based on the analysis of the unit of measurement adopted, on the technical, construction and geometrical criteria that can be inferred from prints dedicated to the Church (published in 1686 and in 1737) and on the clients, and attributes this plan to the period of Guarini’s stay in Paris (documented between October 1662 and October 1666). A logical sequence has thus been traced out in Guarini’s design experience through which Guarini was able to develop the extraordinary invention of his diaphanous domes with interlacing arches which can be seen in the series of plans for the churches of Sainte-Anne-la-Royale in Paris, of the Somascan Order in Messina and of San Lorenzo in Turin. The first decade of activity of the architect from Modena, roughly spanning from his first documented plan for the dome of the Church of San Vincenzo in Modena (1653) to his plan for the church in Paris (1662-63), therefore plays a crucial role in his training and is explored in this study by covering his experiences, the places where he stayed and the architectural works that the young architect was able to observe. Rather than reaffirming or exploring once again the role played by the great Roman masters which has already been the subject of enormous historiographical efforts, this study wishes to focus on the spaces of freedom that he managed to carve out for himself. Starting from critical paths that have already been trodden, this endeavour to underscore not so much what Guarini saw but rather what captured his interest influencing his design choices should not forget his reluctance to adopt the selective filters imposed by the prevailing culture of his time and his unwavering autonomy in his own personal research by re-elaborating available traditions. The spotlight is therefore focussed on the three main interests that clearly emerge from Guarini’s works and writings, namely complex geometric solutions that are able to experimentally outperform conventional solutions available in tradition, columnar architecture in which order is understood in its dual role of structural element and means to organise space, and the most fascinating aspects of Gothic architecture in terms of building wisdom and daring structural solutions.

Il progetto di Guarino Guarini per la chiesa dei Padri Somaschi di Messina costituisce uno dei problemi aperti della letteratura storiografica dedicata al celebre architetto modenese. La sua mancata realizzazione e, al contempo, le sue connotazioni ritenute ricorrentemente troppo “mature” per la fase iniziale della sua carriera, svoltasi a Messina negli anni 1657- 1662, hanno infatti indotto a sostanziali incertezze sulla sua collocazione cronologia e quindi sul suo effettivo ruolo nella concatenazione delle esperienze progettuali di Guarini, in merito soprattutto alla messa a punto delle sue singolari cupole a fasce incrociate. Questo contributo propone un risposta a tali irrisolte questioni, riconducendo, con inedite argomentazioni, la realizzazione del progetto al soggiorno parigino di Guarini (documentato tra l’ottobre del 1662 e lo stesso mese del 1666). I primi dieci anni di attività dell’architetto modenese assumono di conseguenza un ruolo cruciale per la sua formazione e vengono qui indagati, ripercorrendo le esperienze, i luoghi di soggiorno e le architetture che il giovane architetto poté osservare, focalizzando l’attenzione su tre “interessi” guariniani che emergono con chiarezza dalle sue scelte progettuali e dai suoi scritti: i congegni geo- metrici complessi, l’architettura colonnare, e le grandi opere del gotico.