American Cathedral Number Two, Sketch

Aldo Rossi was an Italian architect and theorist whose work centered on the relationship between architecture, memory, and the collective symbolic order of cities. Operating across building design, urban planning, and drawing, he developed a distinctive approach grounded in the study of historical form and typology rather than functionalist doctrine. His theoretical writings, particularly The Architecture of the City (1966), established him as a leading voice in postwar architectural discourse. Rossi's built work, including the San Cataldo Cemetery in Modena and the Gallaratese Housing in Milan, manifested his commitment to reason, geometry, and the retrieval of classical architectural principles within contemporary practice.