Volume II
A Space for Craft
a Violin Luthier’s Workshop within a bombed-out Italian church
Santa Maria in Passione
was a religious building in the historic centre of Genoa , located in the square of the same name on the Castello hill, in the Molo district.
Closed in the nineteenth century due to the laws suppressing religious orders issued by the Savoy government, the complex including the church was first transformed into a barracks and finally became the headquarters of the ONMI, before being almost completely destroyed by British air bombardment during the Second World War.
Closed in the nineteenth century due to the laws suppressing religious orders issued by the Savoy government, the complex including the church was first transformed into a barracks and finally became the headquarters of the ONMI, before being almost completely destroyed by British air bombardment during the Second World War.
The Task.
I was asked to find a new use for the church and decided it should become a Violin luthier’s workshop. Violin making is a historically significant art in Liguria, but a lack of attention and practicing luthiers is putting this skilled craft at risk of disappearing.
Through reuse as a workshop, Santa Maria in Passione can continue to be appreciated for its historical significance while operating as spaces where the knowledge of violin-making can be handed down to new generations.
Through reuse as a workshop, Santa Maria in Passione can continue to be appreciated for its historical significance while operating as spaces where the knowledge of violin-making can be handed down to new generations.
Visiting Mauro
On far too few occassions do we get to visit the exact project we are designing. Much less do we get to speak with the ideal end-user.
As the all-too lucky guy I tend to be, my professor’s friend Mauro runs a Violin atelier in the historical center of Genoa. He led me on a tour of his shop and, in broken English/Italian, we expressed our love for music and the tools which make it. And Frank Zappa.
As the all-too lucky guy I tend to be, my professor’s friend Mauro runs a Violin atelier in the historical center of Genoa. He led me on a tour of his shop and, in broken English/Italian, we expressed our love for music and the tools which make it. And Frank Zappa.