Towards an authentic experience of the world. Notes on the architecture of Monte Verità

Abstract

In the autumn of 1900 a group of intellectuals, artists and philosophers founded a colony on Monte Monescia (Ascona) to undertake an all-encompassing experience of life and art. The idea is to build a natural sanatorium in which to practice heliotherapy and vegetarianism, theosophy and esotericism. The story of the Swiss colony of Monte Verità also brings with it a desire to re-establish physical space and living. The hill is transformed through a set of small wooden architectures and collective outdoor spaces. The dotting of houses and paths constitutes a system in which artifice follows nature and the search for the body-space relationship orients living which feeds on artistic experience.