Italian backgrounds. 1835-1837. Ruskin and Viollet-le-Duc’ early travels in Italy

Abstract

Comparing John Ruskin and Viollet-le-Duc to highlight their opposing approaches to protecting the past is frequent when reading about them and is indeed valid and effective. Here we take this approach, moving along with their travels in Italy which also have never been compared. Interpreting preservation as conservation and maintenance on one hand, or restoration and repair on the other are the opposing strategies upheld by these two authoritative figures in European cultural attitudes to restoration in the mid-19th century. Focusing on the 1830s, and their first visits to Italy implies grasping how their experience of architecture, landscape, and Italian society influenced their later reflections on conservation. The aim is to highlight the impact on contemporary and future generations of a concept of the ‘monument’ as a lasting object, that can be repaired and perfected, rather than a ‘live’ one, because it is marked by time, and conditioned by the nature of the places and local traditions.