The voice of Gustavo Giovannoni in the “redeemed” territories of Venezia Giulia
Gustavo Giovannoni, as a representative of the Italian safeguard institutions, is invited to release some
statements about the restoration of both the Basilica of Grado (1926) and San Giusto Cathedral in Trieste
(1936), in agreement with the then Superintendent Ferdinando Forlati. During the early twentieth century,
these buildings were subject to - when the Eastern border territories were still part of the Österreichisches
Kustenland - be safeguarded and protected by the Austrian institutions which, on occasion, used the
extraordinary contribution of Alois Riegl and Max Dvořak. This is therefore for Giovannoni a singular
opportunity for a confrontation with the most authoritative voices of the transalpine culture. The Italian government sidelined in fact this opportunity, as it was determined to operate in the redeemed territories
(1918) in the sign of a drastic “distinction and discontinuity”. Invited in such context to represent Italian
safeguard institutions, Giovannoni offers articulated and diversified resolutions, that only apparently
respond to the government requests; he indeed broadly expresses his vision of restoration, witnessed in the
redeemed territories through events that are in many ways still unprecedented.
