Un Restauratore alla Corte dei Borbone. Ulisse Rizzi e l’Antico

More than a conscious architect, Ulisse Rizzi can be considered as a key-figure of the conservative culture of the first half of the 19th century. During his academic education and his Pensionato in Rome, he acquired the cultural and technical tools to interpret the formal and materic characteristics of ancient architecture, practicing in drawing and direct reading of classical structures. As technician of the Commissione per lo riordinamento e le riforme del Real Museo Borbonico e degli Scavi di Antichità and, since 1850, as Architect Director of the sites of Capua and Pesto, Rizzi carried out careful restorations, showing a prudent aptitude at reducing the heaviness of the interventions, making the additions distinguishable and ensuring mechanical and aesthetical compatibility with ancient preexistence. Furthermore, his behavior was characterized by the awareness of establishing a dialectical relationship between old and new parts, resorting to materials and techniques ‘adapted’ to different needs. Starting from these premises, the paper aims at giving a critical interpretation of Rizzi’s work which, still little examined by historiography, significantly contributed to the evolution of the discipline of restoration.