Vol. 33 No. 1 Special Issue, vol. II (2025): Oltre il Novecento. Teoria e prassi per il "Restauro del Moderno"
I casi studio / Case-studies

Gio Ponti al Bo: un restauro filologico integrale / Gio Ponti at Bo: A Comprehensive Philological Restoration

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  • Giuseppe Olivi,
  • Marta Nezzo,
  • Giovanna Valenzano,
  • Giada Barison
Giuseppe Olivi
Area Edilizia e Sicurezza, Università degli studi di Padova
Marta Nezzo
Dipartimento dei Beni culturali: archeologia, storia dell’arte del cinema e della musica, Università degli studi di Padova
Giovanna Valenzano
Dipartimento dei Beni culturali: archeologia, storia dell’arte del cinema e della musica, Università degli studi di Padova
Giada Barison
Area Edilizia e Sicurezza, Università degli studi di Padova
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/rar-19033

Published 2025-12-12

Keywords

  • Gio Ponti,
  • Palazzo Bo,
  • Restoration,
  • Restoration practices,
  • Design

How to Cite

Olivi, G., Nezzo, M., Valenzano, G., & Barison, G. (2025). Gio Ponti al Bo: un restauro filologico integrale / Gio Ponti at Bo: A Comprehensive Philological Restoration. Restauro Archeologico, 33(1 Special Issue, vol. II), 58–63. https://doi.org/10.36253/rar-19033

Copyright (c) 2025 Giuseppe Olivi, Marta Nezzo, Giovanna Valenzano, Giada Barison

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

In 2022, the University of Padua undertook a significant restoration project, encompassing all areas of the University's Rectorate, designed by Gio Ponti starting in 1934.The intervention involved floors, walls, doors, lamps, and over 500 pieces of furniture specifically designed by Gio Ponti. Commissioned by Rector Carlo Anti, the architect meticulously curated every detail of the spaces with refined elegance, pursuing a unified and organic vision. The still in use today furniture on the piano nobile of Palazzo Bo (Bo Palace), the University's central headquarters, represents the best-preserved masterpieces among the numerous works created worldwide by the Milanese architect and designer. The restoration, conducted according to philological criteria and critically studied and planned, aimed to rediscover the delicate balance between aesthetic restitution, integrity of the original design, functional restoration, and identity of the spaces, combining the need for preserving the past with the demand for present-day adequacy and efficiency. During both the planning and execution phases, the work team—consisting of architects, art historians, experts, and technicians from various areas and centers, along with restorers, in continuous dialogue with the Superintendence—studied drawings, sketches, specifications, and letters between Rector Anti, architect Ponti.

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