There was a time, perhaps forty years ago and more, when designers in this country followed the Italian architecture scene with great interest. The country was front and center when ideas and styles were communicated principally through magazines Italian like Domus, Casabella, Abitare and Contraspazio. These journals would have articles by Manfredo Tafuri, Bruno Zevi and others, but they also featured images from the country’s fertile design culture.

But it has been decades since Italian architects dominated, let alone were influential, on the international architecture scene. In fact, there are only a few Italian architects known in this country today: Renzo Piano, Massimiliano Fuksas and several Milan–based industrial designers. The work of an older generation of radicals like Superstudio and Archizoom are likely better known by students today than contemporary Italian architects.