Silvia Micheli is a senior lecturer at The University of Queensland, AustraliaLéa-Catherine Szacka is an architect, writer and Senior Lecturer in Architectural Studies at the University of Manchester, UK

Micheli and Szacka’s book provides both an ideal point of entry and an insightfully useful framing of this indispensable figure in late twentieth century architecture. They extend an invitation to peer behind Portoghesi’s seductive photography, the Strada Novissma’s colourful facades, fantasies projected by stage-set domestic interiors, and his ambitions to gather a more complex world under the domes of Rome.

• List of illustrationsSeries prefaceAcknowledgementsINTRODUCTIONItalian postmodern architecture revisitedState of the art Methodology and sources Structure Setting the scene1 THE POSTMODERN PROJECT Impresario of postmodern architecture Choosing Rossi Mendini and the BanalIdeological duel with TafuriBeyond ItalyGalleria Apollodoro, a centre for Roman culture 2 TURN TO HISTORY Architect as historian/historian as architect Neoliberty polemic Instrumental value of the pastTechnique of lap dissolvesGeometria borrominiana Casa Baldi, or the rehabilitation of the curve 3 SOCIALISM FOR FREEDOM Rise and leadership of the PSI Years of the protests Craxismo and the end of prohibitionism Staging the PSI Control over the lagoon The Mosque of Rome, between religion and oil 4 EMBRACING MASS MEDIA Mediatization of the building Ars oratoria Through the pages of the magazines Architecture on the dance floor From movie protagonist to stage set Casa Papanice framed by the camera EPILOGUE 1992 Annus horribilis Retreat to Calcata CODA By Maristella Casciato Notes Bibliography Index: Paolo’s world