The photography of this section was undertaken during a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome in 1978 and during a visit to the eternal city in 2010. A focus of my year Rome was a study of building facades and ornament through photography. Like many others, I found my gaze often drawn to the happenstance and picturesque. It is difficult to discount how this city’s rich and deep history imprints itself on buildings in such a palpable a way. During my explorations, I happened upon work by the architect Innocenzo Sabatini. His 1922 project for the Instituto per le Casa Popolari, in the Trifonale Quarter north of the Vatican, utilizes straightforward materials in remarkably inventive ways. He attempts quite successfully to make something modern yet with a connection to the frayed and storied fabric of the city.
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
