“Sergio Polano. A historian for many arts” at Hangar Crativi

Saturday, October 14th, from 9 am to 1 pm at Hangar Creativi, the Trossi-Uberti Foundation has organized a free event titled “Sergio Polano. A historian for many arts” in memory of the multifaceted figure of Sergio Polano, historian of architecture and the arts, born in 1950 in Livorno and passed away a year ago.

His work – over 25 volumes and 400 publications in Italian and foreign magazines – has embraced the history of contemporary architecture, museum architecture and exhibition design, design, typefaces, graphic design of banknotes and stamps, camouflage of ships during the Great War, hangars for airships, architectural alphabets.

Since 1996, he had been part of the editorial staff of the magazine “Casabella”, contributing to its renewal with his publications and overseeing its official website since 2008. He was involved in the design of installations for the Italian Capitals of Culture.

Professors and professionals from all over Italy will speak about Sergio Polano: Roberto Idà, architect; Beppe Cantele, director of the publishing house Ronzani; Giorgio Cedolin, professor of Typography and Design History; Marco Gemignani, professor of Naval History at the Naval Academy of Livorno; Antonella Gioli, professor of Museology, Art Criticism and Restoration at the Department of Civilization and Forms of Knowledge at the University of Pisa; Marco Magni, founder of Guicciardini & Magni Architects; Amedeo Palazzi, Art Director; Michela Scibilia, Graphic Designer.

The event, free of charge, is sponsored by the Tuscany Region, the Municipality of Livorno, the Tuscan Federation of Architects, Planners and Conservators, and the Livorno Provincial Order of Architects, Planners and Conservators (the meeting is valid for the recognition of CFP for registered members).

Sergio Polano was born on January 24, 1950, in Livorno, where he lived until the age of fifteen. He then moved to Rome but always maintained a strong connection with his hometown, old friends, and Tuscany.

After graduating in architecture in 1974 from Iuav in Venice under Manfredo Tafuri, he began his academic career as an assistant and then a researcher. Later, as an associate professor of Contemporary Architecture History, he taught at various universities: Udine, Ferrara, Venice, Polytechnic University of Milan, HFAK in Vienna, Treviso, and finally back in Venice.

In 2008, as a full professor of Contemporary Art History, he retired from teaching to dedicate himself to various aspects of art: from architecture to exhibition design, from design to typefaces, from graphic design of banknotes and stamps, to camouflage of ships during the Great War, and hangars for airships, to explore architectural alphabets and the study of contemporary authors.

Since 1996, he had been part of the editorial staff of the magazine Casabella, contributing to its renewal with his publications and overseeing its official website since 2008.

As an innovator in historical research and teaching, he made a fundamental contribution to the establishment of the Faculty of Design and Arts in Venice, as well as in the fields of graphic design, design, and typography, in the design of exhibitions, books, and events. His studies on Dutch architecture and art of the 20th century opened up new research perspectives, as did his studies on Italian exhibition design. His book Mostrare (1988) is an essential reference for anyone studying this field, as are his studies on graphic design, which are the subject of two volumes – Abecedario (2002) and Sussidiario (2010) – as well as the guides to Italian 20th-century architecture.

In recent years, he had established a fruitful collaboration with the publishing house Ronzani, which published his latest works: Abbecedari architettonici and Ezio D’Errico. Mystery of the Typefaces, both in 2022, and, in collaboration with Alessandro Santero, a book on industrial graphics to be released soon.

His work – over 25 volumes and 400 publications in Italian and foreign magazines – transcends the boundaries of Italian cultural reality to embrace the European and international ones, thanks to the originality, vastness, and diversity of his research. He passed away on June 14, 2022, leaving behind a precious legacy of knowledge, studies, research, and a contagious curiosity in exploring the vast world of the arts, always choosing to take unconventional paths.