essay

The 'archvilla': an Italian Canadian architectural archetype

studies in italian american folklore • Logan, Utah • Published In 1993 • Pages: 53-105

By: Del Giudice, Luisa.

Abstract

This paper is a study of the Italian Canadian 'archvilla', an architectual style involving the wide spread use of the arch in house and other building construction. In this article Del Giudice attempts to '…(1) place in relief the centrality of the home and family foyer in the Italian worldview; (2) examine briefly the immigrant's domestic environment, his interiorized 'dreamscapes', and how he occupies and animates his built habitat; and (3) explore the sources and meaning of the arch as the archetypal architectual expression of Italian ethnicity' (p. 53). This document also contains information on the gardens and grounds surrounding the home, the Italian's ancestral relationship to the land, the CANTINE or storage room within the house for food and wine, the 'archvilla' and its relationshp to the deeply embedded myth of Rome, and the nationalistic ideologies and styles exploited by Fascism in Italy in architectual design. This study has resulted from a synthesis of the author's personal experience and memory and corroborated through field work and archival research.

HRAF PubDate

2000

Region

North America

Sub Region

Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Creator Types

Indigenous Person

Folklorist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

John Beierle; 2000

Field Date

no date

Coverage Date

not specified

Coverage Place

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Notes

Luisa Del Giudice

Includes bibliographical references (p.102-105)

LCCN

93021459

LCSH

Italians--Canada