Neo-Liberty

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Neo-Liberty. Italian architectural movement which evolved in the late 1950s as an antidote to International Modernism, notably where historic town centres were about to be wrecked by devotees of CIAM and the Athens Charter. The term was invented in order to imply (quite fallaciously) that the movement was a mere revival of Italian Art Nouveau (Stile Liberty): those responsible for the attack were largely led by Banham. However, with architects such as Gregotti in the vanguard, and support from figures such as Rossi, Aulenti, and others, the movement intended to reverse the suppression of truth and the destruction of history that had been part of the Modernist agenda from the beginning. It was partially successful, especially in parts of Europe and the USA, although the disciples of Banham and others still managed to discount its importance even at the beginning of C21. It became closely identified with Neo-Rationalism.

Bibliography

Architectural Review, cxxv/747 (Apr. 1959), 231–5; and cxxvi/754 (Dec. 1959), 341–4;
Cellini et al. (1985);
Jane Turner (1996)