QUANDO IL NORD INCONTRA LA «CHIAVE DI TUTTO». La Sicilia di Ragnar Östberg

Chiara Monterumisi
2017
Book chapter

Travelling experiences along the cradle of European culture were, especially for Scandinavian architects, an outright voyage towards a contrasting cultural and geographical reality. However, assuming an unconditional fascination as natural reaction is reductive. The leading exponent of National Romanticism, Ragnar Östberg (1866-1945), left Stockholm with the consciousness of not being able of capturing the gist of classical examples. Before departing he felt conflicting feelings, akin to Goethe’s ones: an initial strong admiration for Gothic, but a contempt for Antiquity. Östberg and other scholars learnt classical architecture from the Beaux-arts viewpoint, which, at that time, was a mere imitative process of re-drawing the architectural styles. But, after visiting temples and theatres, both Goethe and the Swedish architects changed their disapproval for a fascination emanating from those strong and lively «springs» (ÖSTBERG, 1920). They alleviated his yearning for sources of reference and fed his imagination. Travelling was a source of many sketches and notes which later became inspiring repertoires for the following generations (PERSSON, 1941). Indeed, on the Östberg’s 75th birthday, his Academy students, a copious group of Swedish architects and the Association of Swedish architects re-printed a pamphlet entitled "Ur Ragnar Östberg skissbok 1897". The celebrative pamphlet contains extracts of travelogues and a selection of sketches about Italy and Greece. During his 3-year trip (1896-1899), he came into contact with the Antiquity for the first time, starting from Sicily (February-March 1897). The round trip itinerary included Palermo, Segesta, Agrigento, Siracusa and Taormina. It embodied the «clue to everything» (GOETHE, 1786-1788). What clearly emerges from Östberg’s sketches and travel notes is a vivid realism in outlining suggestive and picturesque frames of inhabitants and of a «fairy world» (LAGERLÖF, 1897), expressed by the innate bond between architecture and landscape.

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Chiara Monterumisi
2017
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