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    Mechanical Punchinello

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    Marco Frascari
    Carlo Lodoli was an 18th century architectural theorist who taught through stories. One story describes a mechanical Punchinello puppet displayed outside a blacksmith shop. The puppet appeared to move on its own through ropes and pulleys connected to a hidden weight. A child believes the puppet is moving by itself but is corrected by an adult who shows him the hidden mechanisms and springs that are actually controlling the puppet's movements. Lodoli used this story to teach his students about hidden mechanisms and not just accepting things at face value.

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    Mechanical Punchinello

    Uploaded by

    Marco Frascari
    174 views1 page
    Carlo Lodoli was an 18th century architectural theorist who taught through stories. One story describes a mechanical Punchinello puppet displayed outside a blacksmith shop. The puppet appeared to move on its own through ropes and pulleys connected to a hidden weight. A child believes the puppet is moving by itself but is corrected by an adult who shows him the hidden mechanisms and springs that are actually controlling the puppet's movements. Lodoli used this story to teach his students about hidden mechanisms and not just accepting things at face value.

    Original Description:

    translation of one of Lodoli's Apologues

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    Carlo Lodoli was an 18th century architectural theorist who taught through stories. One story describes a mechanical Punchinello puppet displayed outside a blacksmith shop. The puppet appeared to move on its own through ropes and pulleys connected to a hidden weight. A child believes the puppet is moving by itself but is corrected by an adult who shows him the hidden mechanisms and springs that are actually controlling the puppet's movements. Lodoli used this story to teach his students about hidden mechanisms and not just accepting things at face value.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    174 views1 page

    Mechanical Punchinello

    Uploaded by

    Marco Frascari
    Carlo Lodoli was an 18th century architectural theorist who taught through stories. One story describes a mechanical Punchinello puppet displayed outside a blacksmith shop. The puppet appeared to move on its own through ropes and pulleys connected to a hidden weight. A child believes the puppet is moving by itself but is corrected by an adult who shows him the hidden mechanisms and springs that are actually controlling the puppet's movements. Lodoli used this story to teach his students about hidden mechanisms and not just accepting things at face value.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 1

    A small mention in most history books of modern architecture, Carlo Lodoli taught architectural

    theory by telling stories, others tried to write down his theories, but the only surviving book directly
    authored by him is the Apologhi Immaginati (1787), a collection of the stories he used in his
    teaching. In this book is told the story of a mechanical Punchinello:

    Mechanical Punchinello +
     
    Placed high outside of the Blacksmith’s shop was an elegant spit, which slowly moved a nobly
    dressed Punchinello. Lowering and raising it in such a way that it truly seemed to have life and
    looked as well if he operated a machine which sat next to him. The heavy stone, which was well
    connected to the cord, was hung on the inside and in a way, that its effect could not be seen from
    the outside.
    An innocent child, who was passing by there while walking to school, looking here and there,
    became completely filled with marvel. He told his guardian to look how well that Punchinello
    moves!
    “Oh dear little boy,” he replied, “it is not Punchinello that moves, but on the contrary Punchinello
    is the one being moved. Come along with me to see the mechanism and you will see that it is all a
    game. He is moving because of hidden springs, all of which are activated by a weight.
    Those who are vulgar, almost always ignorant and believing in appearances, when dealing with
    things of the ministry, without knowledge of the mechanisms of the secret springs, often admire an
    idiot who does not allow them to see that his assistants are kept secret.
    (Translation by Marc J. Neveu with a few modifications)

                                                                                                                   
    +
     Manfredo  Tafuri’s  favorite  Lodolian  story  

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