133 years ago, on 21 June 1891, he was born in Sondrio Pier Luigi Nervi, one of the major protagonists of the international architectural panorama of the twentieth century. We owe him some of the most beautiful contemporary works, born from the desire to contribute to the breakdown of the formal paradigms of rationalism.
Nervi is responsible for some of the most beautiful contemporary works, born from the desire to contribute to the breakdown of the formal paradigms of rationalism.Matteo Cirenei and Marco Menghi, Finding Pier Luigi Nervi. Salt warehouses, Tortona. Photo courtesy Matteo Cirenei and Marco Menghi.
Nervi’s buildings, based on cutting-edge technical-structural solutions, stand out for their extraordinary elegance and have become true icons of the short century, constructions admired and imitated worldwide. Also thanks to the works of the engineer from Valtellina, Italian architecture experienced a season of unrepeatable glory, becoming a reference even beyond theOcean.
Also thanks to the works of the engineer from Valtellina, Italian architecture experienced a season of unrepeatable glory, becoming a reference even beyond the ocean.Matteo Cirenei and Marco Menghi, Finding Pier Luigi Nervi. Holy Water Salon Chianciano Terme. Photo courtesy Matteo Cirenei and Marco Menghi.
An engineer devoted to innovation
Born into a family with Ligurian origins, Nervi graduated in Bologna in 1913 and began his professional career conquered by the technological and formal innovations of François Hennebique And Robert Maillart. After an initial apprenticeship, in 1920 he founded his own company, the Nervi and Nebbiosi Engineering Society (then, from 1932, Nervi and Bartoli Company). Throughout his life Nervi will maintain the dual role of designer and builder, an atypical figure in the panorama of engineering and architecture of the current century.
