Camillo Boito
| Camillo Boito | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
October 30, 1836 Rome |
| Died | June 28, 1914 (aged 77) Milan |
| Occupation | short story writer, essayst |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Genre | short story, essay |
| Literary movement | Scapigliatura |
| Notable works | Senso |
Camillo Boito (Italian pronunciation: [kaˈmillo ˈbɔito]; October 30, 1836 – June 28, 1914) was an Italian architect and engineer, and a noted art critic, art historian and novelist.
Boito was born in Rome, the son of an Italian painter of miniatures. His mother was of Polish ancestry. He studied in Padua and then architecture at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia (School of Fine Arts) in Venice. During his time there, he was influenced by Selvatico Estense, an architect who championed the study of medieval art in Italy. He taught architecture at the Venice School of Fine Arts until 1856 when he moved to Tuscany.
His agitation against the Austrian domination of Venice pressured him to leave, despite his position as adjunct professor at the Academy. In Florence he begins to write for the journal lo Spettatore edited by Celestino Bianchi.
In 1860, he was named professor of Superior Architecture at the Brera Academy in Milan. In Milan, he published for a number of journals, including Politecnico, Perseveranza, and Nuova Antologia.
During his extensive work restoring ancient buildings, he tried to reconcile the conflicting views of his contemporaries on architectural restoration, notably those of Eugene Viollet-le-Duc and John Ruskin. This reconciliation of ideas was presented at the III Conference of Architects and Civil Engineers of Rome in 1883 in a document later to be known as the "Prima Carta del Restauro" or the Charter of Restoration. This inaugural charter develops eight points to be taken into consideration in the restoration of historical monuments:
The concern was for maintaining authenticity in terms of the identification of original materials. At the same time, the intention was to promote a "scientific" attitude toward restoration. Boito's principles were well accepted and inspired modern legislation on restoration of historical monuments in several countries.
Boito is perhaps most famous for his restoration of the Church and Campanile of Santi Maria e Donato at Murano, inspired by the theories and techniques of Viollet-Le-Duc. He also worked on the Porta Ticinese in Milan between 1856–1858 and famed Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua in 1899. He designed the Cemetery of Gallarate.
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