Alfonso Di Masi: Architecture in Salerno Lacks Space for Innovation

Architect Alfonso Di Masi (Capaccio, 1953), trained at the University of Naples Federico II under Michele Capobianco, criticizes the lack of contemporary architectural culture in Salerno province. His work, influenced by Zaha Hadid, Hans Hollein, and Rem Koolhaas, includes dairy factories, hotels, agritourism facilities, and urban renewal projects. Notable projects include Casa Saponara (1996), a dairy plant in Albanella (1996), the Tufaro thermal hotel (1999-2005), an expressionist dairy factory (2001-ongoing), a competition for a theater in Varese (2015), and a science museum proposal for Paestum (2020). Di Masi participated in the 2007 exhibition 'Modernità. Crisi e prospettive dello spazio pubblico' curated by Cesare De Sessa and Fausto Martino in Agropoli. He identifies with deconstructivism and cites his dairy plant 'Nuova Contadina' in Albanella as his most representative work. Di Masi laments the absence of an architectural observatory in Salerno and describes his current professional stagnation.