Adalberto Libera: The Architect Behind Casa Malaparte's Myth

Casa Malaparte on Capri, often attributed to architect Adalberto Libera, was actually built by writer Curzio Malaparte who discarded Libera's design. In 1936, Malaparte bought land at Punta Massullo for 12,000 lire and used Libera's name to secure a building permit, then built his own villa with a tapered staircase, large windows, and a fireplace with a view. Libera, aware the house was not his work, never listed it among his projects. The article explores Libera's career: born in 1903 to an aristocratic family, he co-founded the MIAR (Italian Movement for Rational Architecture) in 1928 after the first rational architecture exhibition organized with Gaetano Minnucci. He designed the exhibition of the Fascist Revolution with Mario De Renzi, which drew over 4 million visitors over two years. Libera later designed the Palazzo dei Congressi at EUR in Rome (1938), though Marcello Piacentini forced him to add monumental columns. After WWII, he directed the INA Casa projects office under Arnaldo Foschini, creating notable housing. In 1952 he became a professor in Florence, moving to Rome in November 1962, four months before his death in March 1963. Critic Bruno Zevi considered Libera a 'fascist of the left' and praised his partnership with De Renzi. Libera's post-war work includes the horizontal housing unit at Tuscolano and the Trento regional government building, whose structural calculations were done by engineer Sergio Musmeci.