Architectural History and Contemporary Preservation Trends

This volume spans continents and centuries, exploring diverse topics through interdisciplinary research approaches. These compelling studies of pivotal cases in architectural history illuminate the multifaceted challenges facing the field today. The essays highlight both the invaluable nature of our global architectural heritage and the urgent threats it confronts, while proposing innovative approaches to preservation, conservation, reconstruction, and use. The contributors, listed below, are recipients of the prestigious Weinberg Fellowship in Architectural History and Preservation at Columbia’s Italian Academy―a fellowship dedicated to advancing the understanding and conservation of architecture across all geographic regions and historical periods. The Weinberg Fellowships and this book have been developed in conjunction with the International Observatory for Cultural Heritage at the Italian Academy, which sponsors and encourages research on monuments, artifacts, and traditions.

Contributors: Venus Suleiman Akef, University of Technology, Iraq, Francesco Benelli, University of Bologna, Mirjam S. Brusius, German Historical Institute London, Sara Bova, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Alessandra Buccheri, Academy of Fine Arts of Palermo, Matilde Cassani, Free University of Bozen–Bolzano, Gabriele Neri, Polytechnic University of Turin, and Alice Pozzati, Polytechnic University of Turin

Barbara Faedda serves at Columbia University as the executive director of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies―where she conceived the International Observatory for Cultural Heritage―and as an adjunct professor in the Italian Department. She received her Ph.D. in Legal Anthropology and Social Science from the Università Suor Orsola Benincasa di Napoli after studying at Sapienza Università di Roma. In 2019, she was appointed ambassador, permanent observer for the European Public Law Organization to the United Nations. In 2022, the President of the Italian Republic named Barbara Faedda a “Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica” (Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic).

Her books include From Da Ponte to the Casa Italiana: A Brief History of Italian Studies at Columbia University (Columbia University Press, 2017), Élite: Cultura italiana e statunitense tra Settecento e Novecento (Ronzani, 2020), A Lost Mediterranean Culture: The Giant Statues of Sardinia’s Mont’e Prama (co-editor, with Paolo Carta; Columbia University Press, 2023), and Tharros: A Sardinian Treasure in the Ancient Mediterranean (co-editor, with P. Carta; Columbia University Press, 2025). She is editor of this volume as well as the first in the series, A Shared Global Heritage: Architectural History, Conservation, and Preservation (Italian Academy Publications, 2023).