Realism and Rationalism: An Italian-German Architectural Discourse

Looking backwards from the recent philosophical debate on new rea-lism, this paper examines the relationship between realism and rationa-lism in the history of modern and postwar architecture, focusing on the Italian-German relationship. The discourse is characterised as a dialectical relationship between the two notions and between two architectural cultures, finding its peculiar expression in a complex intertwining of mutual references and interpretations. While Italian modern architecture shows a strong dependence on German rationalism until the postwar period, conversely, the Italian architectural theories of the last fifty years have significantly influenced the thinking of German architects and are reflected in the reality of their buildings.