Stefania Filo Speziale: la Signora di Napoli

Looking at the entire production of Filo Speziale, in addition to the natural evolution of her planning approach, we can see a certain heterogeneity in solutions and formal choices. This is also explained by the way of working within the studio with the partners Giorgio di Simone and Mario Chiurazzi. In fact, it often happened that one of the three took care individually of a project after having shared a common strategy and before reviewing the project together for final corrections . Nevertheless, it is possible to trace the sources and the professional path of her figure, from the first years after graduation up to the last works. A common matrix which does not change is clear and it consists in a convinced adhesion to rationalist modernism, which is however capable of unprecedented and original combinations. The formal research of Filo Speziale, or ‘the lady’, how she was often called, involved changing geometries, the use of reinforced concrete combined with local construction materials and attention to the internal and external space of the building. She never gave into the risk of a sterile formalism because she did not aspire to build ‘ideal’, paradigmatic works. On the contrary, perhaps also because she was stimulated by the peculiar Neapolitan landscape, she fruitfully always measured the architecture with the specific site. Neapolitan landscape is characterized by the gulf with the well-known islands – including Capri and Ischia – and the hilly structure of the territory allows in many points to have a very suggestive panoramic view. In addition, the same hilly structure offers the possibility of creating tunnels, working on differences in height and shaping appealing perspective views. Many buildings of Filo Speziale demonstrate the ability to adapt, or rather to reach modernity through this relationship with the place. It would be enough to mention the cases of the Metropolitan movie theatre and Palazzo Della Morte to clarify the richness and complexity of this relationship.