Massimo Cacciari: philosopher, architect critic, and former revolutionary

Luigi Prestinenza Puglisi reflects on Massimo Cacciari's persona and career, prompted by a recent interview. Cacciari claims to be free of passions, owns 30,000 books, and cuts his own hair. As a philosopher, he influenced architecture through writings on Adolf Loos and contributions to Casabella under Vittorio Gregotti. With Manfredo Tafuri, he promoted a leftist, Heideggerian reading of architecture, often using dense German texts. Cacciari was a far-left activist, involved with Porto Marghera pickets and friends with Alberto Asor Rosa, Mario Tronti, and Toni Negri. He later served as mayor of Venice, pragmatically supporting the MOSE barrier and the Calatrava bridge. He received an honorary architecture degree from Genoa University in 2003. Puglisi critiques Cacciari's intellectual style as elitist and his philosophical influence as fostering a nostalgic, negative approach to architecture.