“Although I live among the people of this beautiful world, almost like one of them and working for clients in a serious and professional manner, in reality I live a secret, dream life.” Perhaps all architects of all periods have had a secret life, a forbidden desire, an impossible dream.

No one, however, was ever able to realise it, especially in the 20th century. This is one of the reasons why La Scarzuola is an obligatory stop in Domus’s Italian Journey, because it is a magical gateway to understanding the country and the role that architecture has played here.