Europe's 'Cities Of Stone'

"The 'Cities of Stone' exhibition of Professor Claudio D'Amato, which is part of the 10th Venice Architecture Biennale, attracts great interest both from professionals and international media. The exhibition showcases the use of natural materials in the past and suggests how they can be employed in harmonious environments in the future. Professor Claudio D'Amato of the Polytechnic University of Bari says that "there is nothing to say that glass and steel are intrinsically modern or that that stone is necessarily ancient. It depends on how they are used."

The exhibition is being displayed in the former shipyard of Venice, some of which was built in medieval times. For some commentators, Professor D'Amato's choice was rather eccentric as "stone has been around since the Pharaohs. Surely there's nothing new to say about it" writes the British newspaper Financial Times. But the newspaper quotes Professor D'Amato insisting that the glorious use of the stone in the past, makes it the right medium for the future, particularly in the Southern Europe."

Thanks to Aura Neag