THE ROLE OF GEOMETRY FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEATRO CONTINUO IN MILAN

The Italian artist Alberto Burri is known for his artistic research on the expressiveness of materials and particularly for his pictorial cycles more than for his sculptures. However, his expressive power is strongly manifested also in his sculptures. Burri had a strong sensitivity towards solid geometry and his sculptures are absolute works of art. In particular, the paper will investigate the first sculpture created by Burri in 1973, demolished in 1989 and then rebuilt in 2015: the Teatro Continuo created for the Milan Triennial. It is located on the spectacular perspective axis at the centre of the Sempione Park, and it is a synthesis between art and architecture, combining the characteristics of a sculpture, an architectural work and a theatre in the same object. The paper investigates its construction and geometry. The sculpture consists of a raised concrete platform of 17 x 10.5 meters, which can be reached by ramps on each side. On the short sides, there are three rotating iron wings measuring 2.5 x 6 x 0.25 meters, remotely controlled with movements independent one to each other. These had different colours on their sides: the natural colour of the metal sheet and white on the other side, although in Burri's idea the colour could be changed at will. The Teatro Continuo was created with the aim of showing how art can have a flywheel effect in the interaction between humanity and the urban environment, and how much its construction is important as a representative space for the relationship between people and the city.