Experiencing Italian Hill Towns

Abstract

The nature of exploring a new place is to wander, discover, and allow curiosity to guide one’s path through the fragments composing the journey, transforming the hyper-real present into a wistful memory. One hopes to uncover an understanding of a certain place over time, beginning with the initial rush of encountering a new place and intimately being present in a foreign environment. Italian Hill towns, in their universal intrigue and ‘other worldly’ magnetism, are the subjects of this exploration, with the purpose of capturing the palpable, overwhelming sense of place composed of material, street structure/layout, community gathering spaces throughout, and overall ‘otherness.’ By focusing in on architectural properties, one can begin to understand how these tangible elements become intertwined in creating an intangible, harmonious experience.