Remembering Pietro Porcinai, Italy's Forgotten Landscape Architect
Pietro Porcinai (1910-1986) stands out as a leading landscape architect from Italy in the 20th century, having created more than 1,100 projects worldwide. Notably, he designed the green spaces for the Centre Pompidou in 1973, a commission from Richard Rodgers and Renzo Piano. He was the sole Italian featured in The Oxford Companion to Gardens (1986). His journey in landscape architecture began at Villa La Gamberaia, and by the age of eighteen, he had already designed a garden for Villa Reale di Lecce. Porcinai established a studio in 1940 and collaborated with renowned architects like Russell Page. His design philosophy focused on harmony with nature, highlighted by a 1969 infinity pool in Portofino. He also worked with Oscar Niemeyer in 1975 and Pietro Consagra from 1963 to 1976. Despite his achievements, he is often overlooked in Italy.
Key facts
- Pietro Porcinai authored over 1,100 landscape architecture projects.
- He designed green areas for the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 1973.
- In 1986, he was the only Italian in The Oxford Companion to Gardens.
- His first garden was for Villa Reale di Lecce at age 18.
- He collaborated with Oscar Niemeyer on the Mondadori headquarters in Segrate (1975).
- He designed a signature infinity pool in Portofino in 1969.
- He founded a studio with Nello Baroni and Maurizio Tempestini in 1940.
- His archive is housed at Villa Rondinelli in San Domenico di Fiesole.
Entities
Artists
- Pietro Porcinai
- Richard Rodgers
- Renzo Piano
- Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe
- Lady Susan Jellicoe
- Edith Wharton
- Vernon Lee
- Iris Origo
- Bernard Berenson
- Harold Acton
- Catherine Jeanne Ghika Keshko
- Martino Porcinai
- Giuseppina Marinai
- Russell Page
- Karl Foerster
- Nello Baroni
- Maurizio Tempestini
- Costantino Nivola
- Oscar Niemeyer
- Pietro Consagra
- Ludovico Pratesi
Institutions
- Centre Pompidou
- Domus
- Villa La Gamberaia
- Villa Reale di Lecce
- Mondadori
- Pinocchio garden
- Villa Rondinelli
- Artribune
Locations
- Italy
- Tirana
- Albania
- Montecarlo
- Monaco
- Abu Dhabi
- United Arab Emirates
- Paris
- France
- Florence
- Venice
- Siena
- Portofino
- Segrate
- Collodi
- San Domenico di Fiesole
- Lecce