Viollet-le-Duc e l'utilizzo del materiale metallico fra tradizione e innovazione

The contribution offers a critical reinterpretation of Viollet-le-Duc's thought and works on issues concerning the choice of materials and construction techniques that are an integral part of the project of intervention on existing buildings. It critically analyses Viollet-le-Duc's position on the use of puddle iron and cast iron in new construction and reconstruction/restoration projects. An examination of Viollet-le-Duc's writings on the subject of metal and the plans for some of his projects shows how important and appropriate he considered it to be to make use of the results of the scientific advances in production and construction during the Industrial Revolution. He carefully studied the architecture of the past, not to imitate it by simply replacing traditional materials with modern ones, but to "apprendre à construire".