What do you think?
Rate this book
Atlantide: Viaggio alla ricerca della bellezza
“Ci vuole un’intera vita, anche lunga se possibile, per imparare, capire e mettere tutto assieme, per riuscire a fare forse una sola cosa che sia quella giusta. Forse un edificio in cui mettere i desideri della gente, l’invenzione del costruttore e la poesia degli spazi. E per poterlo fare bisogna aver conosciuto tante persone, aver calpestato tanti luoghi in silenzio. Bisogna aver viaggiato, sofferto, letto tante pagine di libri, aver avuto tanti amici e forse anche aver rubato loro qualche idea. Essersi commossi di fronte alla bellezza e sdegnati davanti all’ingiustizia, e anche spaventati di fronte alla guerra.”
Comincia un giorno d’estate al porto di Genova, a pochi passi dallo studio di Punta Nave, il lungo viaggio per mare di Renzo Piano e di suo figlio Carlo. A guidarli è un desiderio mitico e ancestrale: come molti avventurieri leggendari prima di loro, salpare e prendere il largo alla ricerca di Atlantide. Atlantide è la città perfetta, perché ospita una società perfetta. Questa è la sua bellezza, preziosa e inafferrabile.
Renzo Piano, con gli occhi di chi sa misurare la terra, ma anche il mare e le sue infinite geometrie, ritorna nei luoghi in cui per tutta la vita ha costruito le sue opere, tasselli nella ricerca infinita e necessaria della bellezza. Naviga con suo figlio nel mezzo del Pacifico, sulle rive del Tamigi e della Senna, raggiunge Atene, il Golden Gate Park di San Francisco e la baia di Osaka.
Cosa significa questo viaggio? E perché cercare a ritroso, ritornando ai luoghi del passato? “Forse bisogna essere figli di un temporale, e credere che il passare del tempo sistemi le cose per il meglio. Tutto questo bisogna aver fatto, per poi dimenticarlo, affinché il ricordo diventi quello che tu sei. E allora, solo allora, forse per miracolo tu architetto riesci a fare l’edificio giusto.”
Comincia un giorno d’estate al porto di Genova, a pochi passi dallo studio di Punta Nave, il lungo viaggio per mare di Renzo Piano e di suo figlio Carlo. A guidarli è un desiderio mitico e ancestrale: come molti avventurieri leggendari prima di loro, salpare e prendere il largo alla ricerca di Atlantide. Atlantide è la città perfetta, perché ospita una società perfetta. Questa è la sua bellezza, preziosa e inafferrabile.
Renzo Piano, con gli occhi di chi sa misurare la terra, ma anche il mare e le sue infinite geometrie, ritorna nei luoghi in cui per tutta la vita ha costruito le sue opere, tasselli nella ricerca infinita e necessaria della bellezza. Naviga con suo figlio nel mezzo del Pacifico, sulle rive del Tamigi e della Senna, raggiunge Atene, il Golden Gate Park di San Francisco e la baia di Osaka.
Cosa significa questo viaggio? E perché cercare a ritroso, ritornando ai luoghi del passato? “Forse bisogna essere figli di un temporale, e credere che il passare del tempo sistemi le cose per il meglio. Tutto questo bisogna aver fatto, per poi dimenticarlo, affinché il ricordo diventi quello che tu sei. E allora, solo allora, forse per miracolo tu architetto riesci a fare l’edificio giusto.”
- GenresTravelNonfiction
295 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 21, 2019
19 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 20, 2020
What an unexpected pleasure this was. I spent a week reading it, always looked forward to picking it up and loved the shared narrative between father and son as they travelled around the world on a research ship, during 8 months, revisiting the sites of Renzo's architectural designs and his memory of the creative process, of the people he met with to understand their needs and that of the community his structures would serve and the incredible cultural immersion all those projects have given, this now 80 year old architect and father.
Renzo and Carlo set sail from Genoa one late summer day, and from the blurb, would have us believe:
It is as much a conversation as a travelogue and one that takes place when 80 year old Renzo is still contemplating retirement, this revisiting of his projects and the reflection they invite, the inspiration of old, the dissatisfaction with things he might have done different and the provocation and scandal that his early work, (Beauborg - the Centre Pompidou in Paris) caused.
The son Carlo questions and muses and creates the narrative structure within which his father responds and reflects and by the end I can't even say whose narrative I prefer, there is such a wonderful synergy and relation between the two, Carlo is able to dig further than an interviewer might, because it is his father he knows so well, referring to him by many names throughout, the Explorer, the Constructor, the Old Man. Does he call him the Philosoper? I'm not sure, but he is, his subject creativity and beauty.
Having educated us in how the word 'beauty' differs in Italian, French and many other languages, something that means 'good and beautiful, intrinsic in the essence of something' he reminisces with his staff on their collective purpose: (in a letter he writes on the ship to them on the day of his 80th birthday)
I found the entire book engaging, their journey and revisiting the building projects along the Tames and the Seine, in New Caledonia and New York, San Franciso and Osaka Bay and finally to Athens, providing just enough information and context to keep the narrative interesting and intriguing, with the addition of that element of humanity that only two people who know each other as well as these two could bring.
Renzo and Carlo set sail from Genoa one late summer day, and from the blurb, would have us believe:
guided by the ancestral desire felt by many explorers before them to find Atlantis, the perfect city, built to harbour a perfect society
It is as much a conversation as a travelogue and one that takes place when 80 year old Renzo is still contemplating retirement, this revisiting of his projects and the reflection they invite, the inspiration of old, the dissatisfaction with things he might have done different and the provocation and scandal that his early work, (Beauborg - the Centre Pompidou in Paris) caused.
Sins of Youth
After the Paris adventure he spent years defending himself against people who feared they would put pipes up everywhere. Rogers suffered the same fate, a fate reserved for heretics in the Middle Ages.
"I see Beauborg as a joyful urban machine, which inspires more than a few questions."
The son Carlo questions and muses and creates the narrative structure within which his father responds and reflects and by the end I can't even say whose narrative I prefer, there is such a wonderful synergy and relation between the two, Carlo is able to dig further than an interviewer might, because it is his father he knows so well, referring to him by many names throughout, the Explorer, the Constructor, the Old Man. Does he call him the Philosoper? I'm not sure, but he is, his subject creativity and beauty.
Having educated us in how the word 'beauty' differs in Italian, French and many other languages, something that means 'good and beautiful, intrinsic in the essence of something' he reminisces with his staff on their collective purpose: (in a letter he writes on the ship to them on the day of his 80th birthday)
"The pursuit of beauty. The word is hard to articulate. As soon as you open your moth, it flies off, like a bird of paradise. Beauty can not be caught, but we are obliged to reach for it. Beauty is not neutral; pursuing it is a political act. Building is a grand act, a gesture toward peace, the opposite of destruction."
I found the entire book engaging, their journey and revisiting the building projects along the Tames and the Seine, in New Caledonia and New York, San Franciso and Osaka Bay and finally to Athens, providing just enough information and context to keep the narrative interesting and intriguing, with the addition of that element of humanity that only two people who know each other as well as these two could bring.
A light touch allows you, even at your most determined, to listen to others and seek to understand them. A heavy tread you're better off without.
Lightness is key to understanding places, and, in that sense, an architect must inhabit the places where he works. I have been a Parisian, a Berliner, a New Yorker, a Londoner, A Kanak.
All the while remaining who I am.
I think an architect who does not recognize himself in the place he is building cannot capture its soul.
May 10, 2021
This was such a lovely book. Part memoir, part travelogue, part meditation on architecture, beauty, fathers, sons, the sea. Atlantis is difficult to describe, but it's well-written, poetic, and moving. I'm not sure it's PERFECT, but it is unique. Carlo and Renzo Piano would say it's impossible to write a perfect book anyway, but what's important is the pursuit of beauty, and Atlantis is beautiful.
March 6, 2021
Third book in Shakespeare & Company Year of Reading
Second book of Tis the Damn Readathon.
Album: Reputation
Prompt: Look What You Made Me Do (Read a book that's recommended to you)
A Staff Pick from Shakespeare & Co totally counts as a recommendation right?
Part father-son buddy travel documentary, part hymn to beauty, part summary of Renzo Piano's architectural career SO FAR ( FYI the man is in his eighties and continues to design buildings around the world, what a legend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renzo_P... ). Interesting, wryly humorous, gorgeously written. BELLISSIMA.
Second book of Tis the Damn Readathon.
Album: Reputation
Prompt: Look What You Made Me Do (Read a book that's recommended to you)
A Staff Pick from Shakespeare & Co totally counts as a recommendation right?
Part father-son buddy travel documentary, part hymn to beauty, part summary of Renzo Piano's architectural career SO FAR ( FYI the man is in his eighties and continues to design buildings around the world, what a legend https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renzo_P... ). Interesting, wryly humorous, gorgeously written. BELLISSIMA.
November 16, 2021
Sailing together on a round-the-world trip, journalist Carlo Piano and his architect father, Renzo, Atlantis is the diary of their thoughts and observations as they tried to find the lost city. There are beautiful passages and reflections on life, travel, culture, and architecture, but I struggled to find a through line. Nevertheless, there were several insightful and poignant quotes:
- "The imperfection that we are confined to live with compels us to seek Atlantis. And maybe the fact that Atlantis remains shrouded in mystery is a good thing. Maybe it never existed yet exists in every place. It embodies the perfection which we long for and will never realize. What we do is always lacking something, and we are perfectly aware of that fact."
- "... the past may be a fine refuge, but the one place we can go is toward the future."
- "But you do not live for what you have done in the past, whether you regret those things or take satisfaction in them. You live for what you have yet to do and what you haven't even begun to imagine."
- "Listening is a complex art: the greatest difficulty is that often the voices with the most interesting things to say are the softest and most discreet."
- "If you want to know if you've done a good job, Renzo, don't look at the building. Look at the eyes of the people looking at it."
- "According to an African proverb, when elephants fight, the grass suffers."
- "The search for beauty cannot be stopped, though it is best to take the journey slow. Best to meet more and other people, encounter unexplored worlds."
- "The imperfection that we are confined to live with compels us to seek Atlantis. And maybe the fact that Atlantis remains shrouded in mystery is a good thing. Maybe it never existed yet exists in every place. It embodies the perfection which we long for and will never realize. What we do is always lacking something, and we are perfectly aware of that fact."
- "... the past may be a fine refuge, but the one place we can go is toward the future."
- "But you do not live for what you have done in the past, whether you regret those things or take satisfaction in them. You live for what you have yet to do and what you haven't even begun to imagine."
- "Listening is a complex art: the greatest difficulty is that often the voices with the most interesting things to say are the softest and most discreet."
- "If you want to know if you've done a good job, Renzo, don't look at the building. Look at the eyes of the people looking at it."
- "According to an African proverb, when elephants fight, the grass suffers."
- "The search for beauty cannot be stopped, though it is best to take the journey slow. Best to meet more and other people, encounter unexplored worlds."
December 19, 2020
It is slow, poignant and meandering. But it is meaningful in so many ways. The authors are a father (architect) and son (journalist) who are on a journey at sea, in search of the mystical island - Atlantis. It’s choc-a-block full of nuggets of wisdom, and in the beginning I was swayed by the beauty of the prose itself. Should I get a highlighter and mark all the meaningful sentences, or will that just be marking the whole book?!
The description of the way an architect thinks, acts, designs is obviously held in very high stead by the authors. They always speak of the profession in venerable tones, without making it too preachy. The shortcomings of the masterpieces that Renzo Piano has built are highlighted in equal measure to the greatness of them. I especially enjoyed the parts about how his first “famous” building the Pompidou in Paris came about, and what he put into the Shard in London. Very interesting insights.
I wouldn’t normally have picked a non-fiction book of this kind, but it was part of a book bag I bought from the Shakespeare & Co Paris bookstore. I started out reading this one very cautiously, ever careful to continue only if I felt it was good enough to read. It does not disappoint and is certainly worth some food for thought to keep you company
The description of the way an architect thinks, acts, designs is obviously held in very high stead by the authors. They always speak of the profession in venerable tones, without making it too preachy. The shortcomings of the masterpieces that Renzo Piano has built are highlighted in equal measure to the greatness of them. I especially enjoyed the parts about how his first “famous” building the Pompidou in Paris came about, and what he put into the Shard in London. Very interesting insights.
I wouldn’t normally have picked a non-fiction book of this kind, but it was part of a book bag I bought from the Shakespeare & Co Paris bookstore. I started out reading this one very cautiously, ever careful to continue only if I felt it was good enough to read. It does not disappoint and is certainly worth some food for thought to keep you company
February 8, 2021
Overall, a nice read.
Atlantis read like a love letter to Jules Verne and Italo Calvino: adventure, nautical details, and humanity in architecture spread throughout the book.
I appreciated the approach to the structure of Atlantis: one chapter, one project. However, the book wanted to be a dialogue, but it felt like two separate conversations. The book wanted to be philosophical and deep, but it felt flighty.
I enjoyed reading about the architecture projects in each city, though the projects were hardly described. What was talked about was Renzo Piano's thoughts and feelings about the project, what lead to the project, and how it affected the people and community in which it was placed. It also includes some details about each building that wouldn't typically show up in a architecture book or magazine excerpt, which I thought was a fun little inside look.
Was Atlantis found? Was the idea of Atlantis understood? I don't think we'll ever know.
Atlantis provided an inside look into the humble life of an architect that I admire, so I am grateful I had the chance to read it.
Atlantis read like a love letter to Jules Verne and Italo Calvino: adventure, nautical details, and humanity in architecture spread throughout the book.
I appreciated the approach to the structure of Atlantis: one chapter, one project. However, the book wanted to be a dialogue, but it felt like two separate conversations. The book wanted to be philosophical and deep, but it felt flighty.
I enjoyed reading about the architecture projects in each city, though the projects were hardly described. What was talked about was Renzo Piano's thoughts and feelings about the project, what lead to the project, and how it affected the people and community in which it was placed. It also includes some details about each building that wouldn't typically show up in a architecture book or magazine excerpt, which I thought was a fun little inside look.
Was Atlantis found? Was the idea of Atlantis understood? I don't think we'll ever know.
Atlantis provided an inside look into the humble life of an architect that I admire, so I am grateful I had the chance to read it.
December 21, 2024
This is a book that thrives on adventure and beauty, all around the world, while it gives us a glimpse on the mythos of Renzo Piano, one of the greatest adventurers of our time, lover of the sea, and probably the best living architect in the world. Carlo makes a fantastic job guiding us through his works and feats, all aboard the Magnaghi, a masterpiece on itself. Full of insights and revelations, this is a book for all those who love architecture, sea, and most important of all: beauty and good.
January 14, 2021
A really fascinating book that made me think a lot about architecture and buildings. Also written from a European perspective which made me realize I don't read a lot of non fiction by European authors. I'd like to read more. Wouldn't have found this book if not for the AMAZING Shakespeare & Co subscription box.
April 3, 2022
Un percorso in cui gli autori raccontano la carriera di Renzo Piano. Interessante anche se risulta un po’ troppo filosofico e poco scorrevole. La ricerca di Atlantide è il pretesto per intraprendere un viaggio per tutti i mari del mondo e parlare delle opere e delle relative sensazioni di Renzo Piano. Carina l’idea editoriale del colore diverso della scrittura, in nero Carlo, in blu Renzo.
August 23, 2019
Enjoyed this book very much. Lots of detail on architecture and the sea. There's so much information in this book that I need to read it again.
August 18, 2023
A long boat trip, reflection and anecdotes on RP's life and constructions, and the ideals of architecture. Not very complimentary about English ship's biscuit!
October 3, 2023
Read for GESM Italian literature, was kinda dense but good
February 11, 2022
-- an Italian journalist and his architect father sail around the world, searching and reflecting
I have to admit this book isn't much for me. I was interested in the stories of architect Renzo Piano and how he saw and solved the engineering problems that came up in his work. The bulk of the text, though, was written by Carlo, who annoyed me. Aside from his real and vulnerable description of his experiences in New York on 9/11, Renzo doesn't have much to say. I wished he would make his father talk more.
Edit: the video review that I made with Paul Venet begins here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTIoN...
I have to admit this book isn't much for me. I was interested in the stories of architect Renzo Piano and how he saw and solved the engineering problems that came up in his work. The bulk of the text, though, was written by Carlo, who annoyed me. Aside from his real and vulnerable description of his experiences in New York on 9/11, Renzo doesn't have much to say. I wished he would make his father talk more.
Edit: the video review that I made with Paul Venet begins here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTIoN...
April 22, 2021
I wasn’t very interested in architecture or sailing before reading this book, and I can’t say I’m much more interested after reading. A thoughtful book, but not my cup of tea.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews