The 1857 inventory. The first holdings of the ETSAM Library

Abstract

Books and magazines are one of the fundamental historical means to establish and understand the didactic methods of Architectural Composition. One editorial period of particular interest was the creation of the Special School of Architecture, established from the Academy with new technical and programmatic requirements since the mid-19th century. Situated in this founding moment, this article studies the first funds of the ETSAM Library collected in an inventory of the year 1857, in order to understand its relevance and meaning for teaching architecture, and the editorial means available for it.  The study carried out has shown the interest of the ETSAM in patrimonial sources, centered on the presence of authors such as Gian Battista Piranesi, Luigi Canina or J.J. Winckelmann, assuming the role that the prints of Rome had in the preceding decades. New project methods have emerged, with typological studies and the repertoires of contemporary works as a documentary system. New formats appear, such as periodicals, with specific interest in national development and material techniques, as well as the same attention to heritage and the project. The Spanish works establish a certain continuity with the Academy interests, immersing themselves in addition in the new documentary trends described above. In summary, a general framework of results that has allowed us to understand the role of the edition in the learning of architecture in this historical moment.