tessa chung captures the surreal & theatrical architecture of la scarzuola in umbria, italy
La Scarzuola, the Embodiment of Tomaso Buzzi’s ‘Ideal City’
Photographer Tessa Chung takes us on tour across the impressive La Scarzuola — a former 13th-century convent located in the medieval city of Umbria, Italy. Tomaso Buzzi, a renowned Italian architect, acquired the complex in 1956, restoring and expanding it into what he calls the ‘ideal city.’ Preserved today as a private house exuding the spirit of a lost, surreal kingdom, the theatrical complex was captured by Chung while on a tour guided by the architect’s niece in a very unruly style.
During the guided walk, Buzzi’s vision of an ideal city began unfolding through symbolic details — from a female bust sculpture embodying lust to elements such as the sun and moon evoking alchemy and myths. Citing the designer himself, ‘solitude is the kingdom of imagination‘; on a nubilous day in the mountain of the Umbrian region, one can comprehend that statement more deeply.
all images © Tessa Chung
nature meets neo-mannerism and antiquity
Tomaso Buzzi’s vision of a utopian world in La Scarzuola pairs Neo-mannerism with biomimicry. Indeed, on the one hand, the architect took inspiration from a historic book supposedly written by 15th-century Italian monk and priest Francisco Colonna, titled ‘Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.’ A classical tale celebrating antiquarianism, love, and the ancient arts, the book was brought to life in exaggerated forms by Buzzi through his restoration of the convent site. ‘The stairways leading towards every angle, purposefully disproportionate in certain sections, and the presence of monsters and superimposed buildings, brings an air of surreal, evocative, geometric, astronomical, and magical energy to this labyrinth,’ explains the managing team at La Scarzuola.
On the other hand, Tessa Chung’s photographic series unveils architectural elements that cue from nature’s living beings. ‘La Scarzuola is the perfect place for ants, the lizards basking in the sun, the snails leaving silver pathways on stones, the silkworms huddled in their cocoons and then weaving their noble threads, the bees building architectural hives, the butterflies, the crickets, the cicadas, and every other little light that worships the sun,’ Buzzi once wrote.
Tomaso Buzzi’s ‘ideal city’ comes to life in La Scarzuola
a female bust sculpture evoking lust
an architecture inspired by antiquarianism
mystical symbolism is unveiled during Tessa Chung’s photographic tour
dramatic vantage points
project info:
name: La Scarzuola
location: Umbria, Montegabbione, Terni, Italy
architecture: Tomaso Buzzi
photography Tessa Chung | @tautoism
designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.
edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom
