Leonardo Ricci: The Misunderstood Genius of Italian Architecture
Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi profiles Leonardo Ricci (1918–1994), an Italian architect of exceptional talent yet largely misunderstood. Ricci studied under Giovanni Michelucci in Florence, later teaching at Harvard and MIT. He designed the utopian Monterinaldi village near Florence and the Villaggio Monte degli Ulivi in Riesi, Sicily, for the Waldensian community. His expressionist Palazzo di Giustizia in Savona was criticized, and his posthumous Palazzo di Giustizia in Novoli (built 1999–2012) compromised his legacy. Ricci authored "Anonimo del XX secolo" (1965). The article reflects on his philosophy of architecture as a means to liberate life, blending organic and expressionist approaches.
Key facts
- Leonardo Ricci was born in 1918 and died in 1994.
- He graduated in architecture from Florence in 1941.
- Ricci worked with Giovanni Michelucci until 1946.
- He taught at Harvard and MIT.
- In 1948, he bought land for Monterinaldi village near Florence.
- His masterpiece is the Villaggio Monte degli Ulivi in Riesi (1963–67).
- The Palazzo di Giustizia in Savona is an expressionist work.
- The Palazzo di Giustizia in Novoli was built posthumously between 1999 and 2012.
Entities
Artists
- Leonardo Ricci
- Bruno Zevi
- Giovanni Michelucci
- Leonardo Savioli
- Vittorio Giorgini
- Luigi Pellegrin
- Frank Lloyd Wright
- Le Corbusier
- Frederick Kiesler
- John Johansen
- Cino Zucchi
- Leon Krier
- Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi
Institutions
- Il Saggiatore
- MIT
- Harvard University
- Istituto d'Urbanistica
- Superstudio
- Archizoom
- Artribune
Locations
- Florence
- Italy
- Riesi
- Caltanissetta
- Sicily
- Savona
- Novoli
- Paris
- France
- United States