Between architecture and geometry. Ovate experiments in Neapolitan tuff

Abstract

This research is dedicated to the study of the geometric configuration of the staircase as a representative space of architecture. This contribution analyzes an astonishing staircase, located in Naples (Italy) in Capodimonte, built in tuff (in a cantilevered system) and with a spatial development on an inverted cone-shaped plan. The investigation methods adopted were the architectural survey (direct and with laser scanner) and the geometric analysis of the forms. The data collected allowed to recognize in this staircase the presence of a cultured design thought capable of constructing a cantilevered ovate staircase in the tuff, adapting its development to an inverted conical helix. The model of the ovate staircase was also analyzed in Italian architectural treatises from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.

Keywords

• rilievo architettonico
• analisi geometrica
• modellazione
• visualizzazione