Percezione e restauro dell’architettura ottomana dei secoli XVIII-XIX a Istanbul: costruzione, conservazione e identità dall’impero alla repubblica

Perception and restoration of the Ottoman Architecture of 18th and 19th centuries in Istanbul: Construction, conservation and identity from the Empire to the Republic. Starting from the publication of Usul-u Mimari-i Osmani in 1873, Ottomans began to display a certain sense of alienation towards the architecture built in the capital of the empire since the early 1740s. In this text, the post-classical Ottoman architecture was criticised for being unoriginal, excessively Westernized, and far from the “local” artistic values. Therefore, the so-called Ottoman Baroque of the XVIII century and the Eclectic buildings of the following decades, which at their moment served as a tool for refreshing the capital with new sultanic images, started being overtly refused. After the earthquake which heavily damaged Istanbul in 1894, many buildings of the capital underwent important restorations, initiating a new relation with the artistic and architectural heritage of the post-classical period. Throughout the XIX century and till ca 1960s, the elements which were not seen as “fully Ottoman” were replaced by new, archaizing ones in different degrees and manners. This essay investigates how the Ottomans adopted and subsequently refused the Western-related forms in building and conservation practices and in which manner the Early Republic in Turkey has dealt with the question. The cultural identity, construction and conservation matters are interrogated together to give a panorama of the subject, trying to understand the social and political dynamics of Istanbul in the aforementioned period.