Tomaso Buzzi at la Scarzuola: an Analysis of Some Unpublished Drawings

Drawing has always assisted the designer during professional reflections because graphic expression not only constitutes a coded language, but rather the privileged place in which the mental representation becomes itself. The idea that a drawing is only the materialisation of an image in the mind is belied by the fact that many ideas emerge precisely through a work of continuous observation and the transformation of what is produced on paper. This contribution brings to the attention of those interested in the subject of drawing, the outcome of a study that aimed to gather information on how the designer draws ideas, using as study material free-hand drawings made without the limits imposed by scale and technique, where we do not find an exact representation of how the object is perceived but how it is interpreted. In particular this research looked at the unpublished drawings of the architect Tomaso Buzzi (Sondrio 1900-Rapallo 1981) made during conversations with the craftsmen involved in the construction of his bizarre architectural work, the Città Buzziana, built during the 1960s alongside the 13th century monastic complex of La Scarzuola, situated in Umbria between Orvieto and Perugia.