romance, that is a particularly suited atmosphere. However, I could not help but ask myself if that was the“ right” light to see the most gothic monument in Italy. Moreover, in those moments I had to still take note of how the whole square was pervaded by a chaos of secondary lights, highlighted by the surrounding dim light, with which the stores, even if closed, signalled their presence, performing in an individualistic and not organized overpowering competition. This clash of different lumen and chromaticity should become one of the priorities to be solved. In fact, the Duomo cannot be separated from the square, with which it must have, at least in theory, a dialectical“ confrontation”.
Could you tell us about another example, of indoor lighting this time? Well, on another occasion I was able to confront a seemingly entirely different set of circumstances, as I was dealing with an indoor space. An environment in which I discovered, however, a few possible similarities in terms of architectural lighting. The subject was the inside of the Portinari Chapel, rich in frescoes and details that decorate one of the first examples of the Renaissance in Milan.
What happened or what did you observe among the masterpieces of Vincenzo Foppa? When we met up with the designers it was already night, and the dark environment was illuminated by a movable framework carrying some sample spotlights, casually placed on the floor in a corner to the left of the Ark( of St. Peter Martyr). A light, therefore, off-centre and not produced by any study. Such placement highlighted a particular, certainly questionable, path: a decentralized light would allow a new architectural reading, all played on the study of the shadows, used as critical support and as a scenic instrument. Surely the play of shadows was to the advantage of reading the Renaissance volumes, bringing the Portinari Chapel’ s architecture very close to the volumes of the Sagrestia Vecchia di San Lorenzo( Old Sacristy of St. Lawrence in Florence). But the Old Sacristy is not as rich in frescoes and doesn’ t have that decorative plastic swirl represented by the Angelic Triumph at the drum of the dome. So, it was noted that an architectural spotlight might nevertheless look inadequate where architecture is supporting a decorative apparatus that must have particular lighting features. Here, with the neutrality of light and the attention in avoiding shadows and dark areas, there are technical issues such as the size of the luminaires and their supporting points, as well as the most accurate chromatic influence assessments and the possible interferences with any conservative aspects.
And what about lighting effects, if we can say so, like those on the façades of the buildings overlooking long street segments in the historic centres? Still many years ago I attended the examination of the possibility of illuminating a long portion of Corso Magenta, in Milan’ s historic centre, placing ground-recessed spotlights with anti-glare flaps into the pavement. The operation also appeared interesting because the lighting, starting from the bottom, would create a sense of acceptable shading from light to dark towards the higher areas; moreover, what of no small importance from an administrative standpoint, only one property would be affected as opposed to leaning on light poles in management at different institutions or going onto private property roofs. However, since all the façades were partially lit by the reflected light of the functional light, the extension of this plant, which set up an array of dozens of spotlights, would accordingly result in an“ airport” effect, which might have been incompatible with the historic street layout.
At the end of our pleasant meeting, architect Corrieri, can I ask you if you have a suggestion, a proposal, in your“ toolbox” of experience and study, to be addressed to lighting designers, art historians, municipal administrators and superintendents? Finally, we are talking about how the lighting of monuments could run the“ risk” of opening the doors to a kind of critical re-reading of the monuments themselves, with the danger of denying them their very same historicity. We must hereby not exclude the possible validity of a critical re-reading, when this is the result of a thorough search that
Filippo Carcano, Interno del Duomo di Milano, 1872 also takes into account its contextualization. Light is an artificial fact that can become factitious, or capable of censoring the correct reading of the monument by means of different suggestions, thereby assigning the perception to suggestion, in other words prejudicing an impartial reading. Any potential scenic interest that could be achieved, although tempting, should be delegated to occasional episodes of“ show”, hence designating to permanent illumination the search for a more critically objective meaning. I believe that to address this issue we need a serious and widespread debate, both technological and administrative, but also, and above all, a critical-aesthetic one. I believe that in the presence of so many experiences that I trust will continue, and without denying the value of experimentation, it would be important to start a data collection through the creation of an Observatory for the purpose of cataloguing situations that highlight the relationship between light typology, material reflection and contextualization of objects, proposing a cultural line that depends on regulations and not just from professional skills or administrative issues. It requires, therefore, in my opinion, a debate that scientifically shows errors and merits of what has been done so far, involving an interdisciplinary presence – from the architectural historian to the administrative / institutional figure, from the set designer to the lighting designer – and completed, by successive approximations, with guidelines that encourage creativity to always seek new technological solutions on precise rules. If we are not able to do an adequate job, it is better not to.
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