Italy. Italien. Italie. Exposed Identities 1972—2012. Italian Architecture Displayed Abroad

This study examines the international reception of Italian architecture over four decades (1972-2012), focusing on the exhibitions as reflective device and on the role of the curator and the institution as key figures in this process. Through the analysis of three case studies – Italy: The New Domestic Landscape (MoMA, 1972), Idea, Process, Result (Gropius Bau, 1984), and La Tendenza: Architecture Italienne 1965-1985 (Centre Pompidou, 2012) – the research examines how foreign interlocutors interpreted Italy and shaped their understanding of its architecture, while also considering the reciprocal effects of these interpretations on Italy's own discourse. Through this lens, a broader cultural, geographical and chronological context provides the backdrop for the analysis of the Italian architectural primacy in the international debate, its evolution and gradual disappearance. Moreover, it is through the study of a broader landscape that the thesis proposes the idea of reconstructing a "transnational historiographical" narrative that interweaves several micro-histories. At the core of this work is a commitment to using exhibitions as primary sources of research, as "spaces of theory," and as a critical matrix for architectural discourse. The research also considers exhibitions as research tools, bridging criticism and historiography by examining curatorial practices as a means of discussing, historicizing, and influencing architecture. The analysis of these seminal events sheds light on their role in representing and promoting Italian architectural discourse, offering insights into the act of curating and exhibiting architecture. It also traces the evolution of exhibitions within the architectural field, observing how they have been discussed and theorized, and how they have contributed to academic discourse from historical, critical, didactic, and media perspectives. What emerges from this historical reading, compared to the contemporary context, is a reflection on the cultural impact of exhibitions and on the dissemination activity carried out by institutions today. The research emphasizes exhibitions as autonomous devices and pedagogical tools - agents capable of shaping and informing their subject matter. Ultimately, this dissertation presents exhibitions as catalysts for architectural reflection, symptomatic of how architecture and the architectural community represent themselves.