Emilio Faroldi, Maria Pilar Vettori. Insegnare l’Architettura. Due Scuole a confronto

• Main Author: Oscar Eugenio Bellini
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Italian
• Published: Firenze University Press 2021
• Subjects: Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying; NA9000-9428; Architectural drawing and design; NA2695-2793; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.13128/techne-10504; https://doaj.org/article/7c4a207067c64ea99b6b7de84be33ba0

«Vagliami ‘l lungo studio e ‘l grande amore […]». Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy. Inferno, Book I, p. 83. A well-known aphorism of the philosopher Rudolf Steiner, father of Steiner-Waldorf pedagogy, states that «teaching is not only a distantflow of information, but a warm relationship between two human beings, in which one is thirsty for knowledge and the other one is devoted to transmitting all his human and intellectualexperience». This statement summarizes the essence of “in-signare” as an act of imprinting a “signum” – a brand – on the learner. This process shall not be considered as a one-way practice, pushing learners to a passive attitude, but as a complex and articulated connection, requiring specific methodologies for leading to a new understanding of the reality. “In-signare” (teaching) means acquiringskills, experiences, habits, rules in relation to a trade, a profession, a job. At the same time, it implies a deep relation among human beings, generating a maieutic involvement of learners, improving their potentialities and developing a dual and empathic connection with teachers. One of the most universally recognized, poetic and allegorical images of Italian literature – traced by Dante in the Divine Comedy, meeting “l’onore e lume de li altripoeti”, Virgil – clearly expresses this dimension. From the first moment, the Latin poet reassures Dante’s tormented soul, not only by showing him a viable path, but also by accompanying him on the journey, setting in motion with him: «Allor simosse ed io li tenni dietro». For the learner, meeting those who know “in-signare” means opening up new horizons. That is the source of the motivation that initiate to knowledge. This is the basis for the University experience – as a community committed to stimulating thoughts and reasoning and as a place where to meet teachers able to lead others’ experience. John Henry Newman wrote: «an academic system without the personal influence of teachers on disciples is an Arctic winter» (Newman, 1872). Pietro Calamandrei, for his ...