The Gonzagas' palace: Architecture of time. an interactive application for the discovery of the architectural history of Palazzo Ducale in Mantua

Palazzo Ducale in Mantua is an emblematic case of complex architecture, in which the current configuration is the result of centuries of additions, modifications and substitutions. The understanding of buildings with such a degree of complexity is very difficult and requires, most of the time, a specialized training. Nevertheless, this understanding is also the necessary tool to recognizing the real value, not only architectural but also cultural, historic and documentary of Gonzagas' complex. This research project tries to build new forms of communication that will enable the non-specialist public to grasp the complexity of the Gonzaga palace. So it is necessary to merge the well-established languages with innovative elements that allow a clear and immediate reading. The maquette or plastic is one of the tools that best accomplishes this task. The model speaks an easy to understand language, by entrusting it to the common visual experience. Therefore, there is no need to use special regulations or specialized languages as in the architectural drawing. The plastic is also an interesting surface to represent other themes. In this case, the model allows to acquire two levels of information. At first, it is possible to recognize the shape of the architectural complex through an overall view, that of the observer the plastic, which, in reality, is accessible only by air. It appears impossible to recognize the complex in the same view of the Castle of San Giorgio along with Santa Barbara and the Domus Nova. The second content is given by light-mapping on the surface of the model. The different configurations of the Palazzo during the centuries are projected onto the plastic to let public understand immediately which building belongs to each historical period. The other communication tool that complements the plastic is the imagery. The images play an important role in the project as a form of projection; it enriches the information supplied by the plastic. In this project, we want to emphasize the extraordinary experience of the visitor to the discovery of the historical evolution of the building through a large projection on three walls. The visitor is surrounded in a virtual environment. In the center, there is the plastic and all images-movies are projected on the perimeter walls: they add details to the story of the historical development. The layout of the entire hall, the main entrance to the inside of the environment, wants to emphasize the exceptional nature of the experience and, at the same time, focus on the described elements. The third element that completes the communication project is the story-telling that implies the whole experience. Because the communication is effective, it has abandoned communication style of the documentary, embracing the metaphor of the story in the first person. Each visitor will feel guided in the visit by a well-built character and really identified. The figure chosen to accompany the discovery of the Doge's Palace draws directly to the history of Gonzagas. Rinaldo Bonacolsi, said Passerino, lord of Mantua, was killed in 1328 in a conspiracy organized by Cangrande della Scala and Luigi Corradi from Gonzaga. They latter becomes the lord of Mantua and Gonzaga will start the presence in the city. The Gonzaga have preserved the Passerino mummy in his palace, as a kind of good luck charm. The choice of Passerino as a guide allows you to tell the Palace by those who lived in life and as a “ghost”. It allows to tell Gonzaga not aseptically, but rather to provide those details and anecdotes that make the story livelier. This choice also allows, even at a compositional level, greater freedom being able to move, like a shadow, over and into the palace. This form of communication, divided into plastic, images and video, and narrative, however, requires a historical base and very solid document. The story of Passerino and lived experience by the public is not a simple moment of leisure, but represents a true educational event. The multi-disciplinarity of the project is precisely recognized in the design attitude of each individual that contributed to the installation definition. This research project has been translated into reality through the realization of a permanent installation at Palazzo Ducale, which opened in May 2016.