Whereas the concept of rationalism in the discipline of philosophy is generally associated with theories developed by Rene Descartes, the term came to be used in the design context to refer to an architectural movement that arose in Italy during the 1920s and 1930s.
Inspired by the Modern Movement that was developing throughout Europe at the same time, Razionalismo was oriented around both modern principles of composition and classical forms founded in Roman antiquity.
In 1926, the Gruppo Sette (Group Seven) was founded and included Luigi Figini, Gino Pollino, and Giuseppe Terragni, among others.
Two organizations firmly committed to the philosophies of modern architecture emerged from this core: the Movimento Archittetura Razionale, or MAR, in 1928, and the Movimento Italiano per l’Architettura Razionale, or MIAR, in 1930.
The young architects involved were sympathetic with Fascism at first, openly supporting Mussolini and in some cases becoming party members. The Casa del Fascio in Como, a clear steel-and-glass construction built by Giuseppe Terragni between 1932 and 1936, became renowned for reflecting the ideals of Razionalismo architecture.
The Olivetti factory in Ivrea by Luigi Figini and Gino Pollini, completed in 1937, also took its lead from this architectural style. From the outset, the movement competed with a style more closely tied to neoclassicism.
During the mid-1930s, Mussolini turned away from Razionalismo and began favoring monumental neoclassicism, elevating the latter to the status of the party’s “official” style. Razionalismo was suppressed and the magazine Casabella, an important forum for the movement, was banned in 1943.
Despite the fact that the industrial development and manufacture of products was still relatively underdeveloped in Italy during the 1920s and 1930s, the influence of Razionalismo ideas on the design of furnishings was evident from the outset. For example, the modern, industrial material of tubular steel was employed influenced by developments at the Bauhaus by architects such as Luciano Baldessari, Piero Bottoni, Giuseppe Terragni, Giuseppe Pagano, Gabriele Mucchi, and Gino Levi Montalcini. Most of these designs, however, were merely prototypes and never became mass-produced industrial products.
The end of the Second World War saw a strong resurgence of Razionalismo principles, both in architecture and in the design of everyday objects. In Italy’s flourishing industrial sector, the legacy of Razionalismo continued to be influential in the work of the Studio BBPR and of Franco Albini, Alberto Rosselli, Marco Zanuso, Anna Castelli Ferrieri, and many others. Razionalismo appealed to young architects in the postwar period, in part because of the dearth of architectural commissions, and in part because they were moved by the idea of creating a democratic Italy where simple and inexpensive products were provided for everyone.
They employed its modern, functional formal idiom and refined it in the context of increasing industrialization. Razionalismo became the measuring stick and point of reference for several generations before more radical movements such as Antidesign, Alchimia, and Memphis began questioning the doctrine of pure functionalism in earnest. It must be said that the theoretical and historical debate about Razionalismo in architecture and design in Italy is marked by considerable ambivalence.
The movement’s approaches to modernism have always been lauded as visionary, but the relationship between Razionalismo and Fascism is almost always avoided in discussions of the prewar period, even, or especially, by the architects and designers of the younger generation who usually view themselves as leftist or liberal.
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