The second edition of the Study Tour for Joint School Architecture students was inspired by the Grand Tour, a crucial formative experience for art and architecture students in the eighteenth century. In a “contemporary Grand Tour,” students visited some of Italy’s most emblematic cities for art and architecture: Milan, Rome, Venice, and Mantua.

In keeping with the historic tradition of the Grand Tour, students were encouraged to create a travel notebook, with notes, sketches, drawings, and photographs. Freehand drawing and photography served as a means to deepen their understanding of architectural language.

The original Grand Tour was a journey through space, but also through time, to discover the coexistence of styles and historical stratifications. Similarly, the Study Tour focused on the dialogue between “ancient” and “contemporary,” a distinctive and central element in Italian cities. In Milan, students visited the Duomo, the Prada Foundation, and the recently restored Ca’ Granda. In Rome, the tour began with recent works by Zaha Hadid and Renzo Piano, then visited ancient sites such as the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and Hadrian’s Villa. Venice and Mantua offered insights into the unique relationship between city and water.

In Mantua, students also participated in a design workshop based on one of the iconic buildings of the Renaissance: the Casa del Mantegna. Once again, the focus was on the relationship between past and future, between conservation and design, a key theme in the teaching approach of Politecnico di Milano, as well as in the Joint School’s Architecture program.