COMUNICACIÓN Y PRENSA

John Summerson
Gustavo Gili, 2017

The fundamental principle of this book is that classical architecture should be viewed as a language,as a system of signs with its own particular rules, standards and meaning. The author argues that if we learn this language, this “latín” of architecture, as he calls it, we will not only be able to identify and differentiate certain kinds of buildings, but ultimately to understand them better.
Summerson, considered one of the greatest historians of architecture in the UK took part in a series of radio programmes in 1963, in which he demonstrated his talents at explaining his subject to a wider audience, while offering a new vision of classical architecture.
In 1980 Thames and Hudson published six scripts and in 2017 Gustavo Gili published its third edition in Spanish. This publishing history speaks volumes of this“clásico” about how to look at and appreciate architecture. .
Six lectures, six chapters: 1. The Essentials of Classicism. 2. The Grammar of Antiquity. 3. Sixteenth century Linguistics. 4. The Rhetoric of the Baroque. 5. The Light of Reason and of Archaeology. 6. Classical into Modern.