Davide Pacanowski was born on 29 December 1904 in Łódź ( some sources also give the date as 4 January 1905; this is because his parents registered their son a few days after his birth. This date also appeared on Pacanowski’s documents. However, his actual date of birth was 29 December 1904), into a wealthy, intellectual Jewish family. His father, Herman Pacanowski , owned a textile factory, whilst his mother, Augusta Pacanowska , was a sculptor. Davide was the eldest of three siblings. His younger sisters were Felicja , who in 1932 went to Paris to study painting at the École de Paris, and Erna – a pianist who, along with her mother, died in a concentration camp.

Davide grew up in a family where culture, art and music were of paramount importance. As a young man, he dreamt of the opportunity to study abroad, where he could broaden his intellectual horizons. His dream destination was Italy , a country beloved by his parents, who often went there on holiday. For his outstanding academic achievements , he was awarded a scholarship from the Italian government, thanks to which , in 1923, he was able to begin his studies at the Faculty of Architecture at the Polytechnic University of Milan. Whilst studying, he worked as a draughtsman and designer in the studios of architects such as Giovanni Muzio (1923–1925), Alberto Aplago-Novello and Guido Ferazza (1927–1928), Alessandro Minali (1928–1929), Giuseppe De Finetti (1925–1927) – a pupil of Adolf Loos – and Gio Ponti. All of the above inspired the young Pacanowski with the idea of architecture as a “rich interweaving of rationalism, classicism and modernism”.

He completed his studies in 1928 by presenting a design for a concert hall incorporating the latest acoustic theories on sound reflection, which were being applied at that time in the Salle Pleyel in Paris. In the same year, he passed the state examination at the Royal School of Architecture in Rome ( Regia Scuola Superiore di Architettura di Roma). Between 1928 and 1929, he attended a course on the use of reinforced concrete led by engineer Luigi Santarella. The technological aspect, innovation and the use of prefabricated elements would become a key feature of Pacanowski’s work.

After completing his studies, between 1929 and 1935, he travelled to the United Kingdom , where he received his first commissions in London, Leeds and Leicester . He then travelled to Paris , where he worked with the Société d’Entreprise de Travaux Publics et Industriels, at the Baffrey–Hennebique studio and at the Bureau d’Études Delefosse Lecygne, utilising and expanding his knowledge of reinforced concrete. According to sources, during his stay in France , Pacanowski met Le Corbusier, whom he often visited at his studio.

In 1935, he returned to Italy on commission from the engineer Antonio Di Penta , who entrusted Pacanowski with his first major project: Palazzo Di Penta on Piazza Vittoria in Campobasso, in the Molise region. Di Penta wished to convert an eclectic villa dating from 1920 – then owned by Giuseppe Altobello – into a modern residential building. The Polish architect created a “spectacular and sophisticated masterpiece of modern architecture”. In this project, he boldly employed structural solutions that were innovative for their time, utilising reinforced concrete. A balanced combination of technological and structural experimentation with the building’s integration into the urban landscape, together with its modernist appearance, are the hallmarks of this building, which was a complete novelty in Italy at that time.

In 1937, Pacanowski was admitted to the Register of Architects in Rome ( Ordine degli Architetti di Roma), from which, pursuant to the racial regulations introduced (29 June 1939, Law 1054 ‘Disciplina dell’esercizio delle professioni da parte dei cittadini di razza ebraica’), and in 1940 he was struck off the register on account of his Jewish heritage ( along with him, Angelo Di Castro, Romeo Di Castro and Umberto di Segni were also struck off the list; on 27 January 2020, during a symbolic ceremony, the names of all Jewish architects were restored to the register). Exclusion from the Architects’ Association meant the end of any professional activity, which prevented Jewish architects from engaging in gainful employment. In the same year (1940), he was arrested and interned, first in Tuscany , and then in Sepino in the Molise region, where he spent the next few years. According to sources, whilst there, thanks to the intercession of the archaeologist Amadeo Maiuri ( 1886–1963), Pacanowski was engaged in research on the archaeological excavations at Saepinum Sannita/Altilia and undertook the restoration of the mausoleum of Gaius Ennius Marsus , a project which lasted many years. According to his daughter, Mirta, Pacanowski, the architect, became very close to the local community and was an extremely well-liked and respected figure. In 1950 , in recognition of his contribution, work and dedication, he was awarded honorary citizenship of the municipality of Sepino. In 1954 , Pacanowski was in turn granted Italian citizenship. Having his legal status regularised in Italy was certainly a great relief for the architect, particularly after the turbulent years of the war. It allowed him not only to continue his professional career with full commitment, but also to focus on his private life. At the age of 54, Pacanowski married Lidia Sterle , with whom he had three children: Ermanno, Andrea and Mirta .

After the war, Pacanowski returned fully to his professional work. Throughout his long career (the architect worked almost until the end of his life), he designed detached houses, residential, commercial and office buildings, as well as schools and a church, mainly in Rome, Naples, Campobasso, Sepino and Foggia. He took part in post-war bridge reconstruction work and in numerous competitions and tenders [including the reconstruction of the viaduct in Ariccia ( 1946), the reconstruction of the S. Niccolò Bridge in Florence ( 1946), the reconstruction of the bridge over the River Arno in Terranova Bracciolini ( 1946) and in San Giovanni ( 1946)]. In 1949, he designed the headquarters of the Polish Embassy in Rome . In Rome, he took part in the design of the Roma Termini–Osteria del Curato and Roma Termini–Piazza Risorgimento sections of the metro line (1960–61). In addition, Pacanowski was also involved in interior design and garden design.

Villas

Between 1946 and 1957 , Pacanowski mainly worked on residential architecture in Rome ( the SCIE building on Via S. A. Merici, 1949; two small apartment blocks on Via Monti Parioli, 1951) and in Naples ( the Laudiero apartment blocks on Via Petrarca, 1950; the Borselli apartment blocks on Via Petrarca, 1954; the Baratta building on Via Nevio, 1957).

A landmark project was the Villa Crespi , built between 1952 and 1955, situated on the slopes of the Posillipo hill in Naples. In the 1950s, this district became an attractive location for architects to experiment with modernist residential architecture. Pacanowski, demonstrating extraordinary skill in integrating the building’s form into the hillside’s profile, designed a modernist villa that dazzles with its open-plan layout, cantilevered, elongated terraces and a roof garden.

The three-storey villa, with its white façade, blends seamlessly with the face of the travertine rock. The ground floor, situated at road level, comprises the villa’s living area – a lounge with an arched wall and a terrace onto which a brise-soleil casts shadows. The two upper storeys house the bedrooms. The horizontal lines of the terraces are intersected by a massive column, which blends perfectly into the surroundings, with Mediterranean pines on either side of the villa – which also form part of the overall composition. In 1956 , Epoca magazine (no. 324) listed the Villa Crespi as one of the “most beautiful in the world”. In the same year , photographs of the villa were exhibited at the International Architecture Exhibition in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1956.

Other villas designed in the same fashionable district of Naples included Villa Maderna ( 1959), with its distinctive flat roof, which was originally covered in vegetation, and Villa Bruni Platania ( 1957). All of these are examples of Le Corbusier’s sophisticated, modernist architecture, seamlessly integrated into the landscape, featuring open-plan layouts and large terraces.

Residential buildings

Among the most significant are the projects carried out in Naples ( INA-CASA Secondigliano, 1957–1962), INA-CASA in Caserta ( 1956–1960) and in Benevento ( INA Assitalia 1959–1965, INA-CASA Rione Libertà 1956–1965), as well as the residential building on Via Petrarca in Naples ( 1950–1959). These buildings are characterised by a modernist façade with regular terraces and clear inspiration drawn from the architecture of Le Corbusier.

Pacanowski also designed entire residential and commercial complexes, characterised by functional rigour, a well-thought-out layout of both the architecture and green spaces, and the use of prefabricated elements. One such example is the residential complex in Castello di Cisterna, Naples, designed in the 1980s for earthquake victims. The complex also included a crèche, a nursery school, a primary school and a sports centre.

Commercial buildings

Among the most significant commercial building projects is the five-storey office complex originally designed for the telecommunications company SET (TELECOM) in Naples ( 1959–1966). Today , the building is the headquarters of the ‘Parthenope’ University. Covering an area of approximately 35,000 m², it houses lecture theatres, offices, administrative areas, conference rooms, a canteen and a multi-storey car park. The design also included the landscaping of the courtyard and the green spaces around the building with tall trees.

Other examples of similar projects include the ENEA buildings (formerly CNEN – Comitato Nazionale per l’Energia Nucleare) in Rome and the glass factory in Carini ( 1975–1977).

One of Pacanowski’s most distinctive projects is the Church of St Anthony of Padua in Foggia, completed between 1966 and 1979.

This evocative architecture is Pacanowski’s unique tribute to the architecture of Le Corbusier . The reinforced concrete, irregular form of the massive roof contrasts with the irregular shape of the church, constructed from curved walls clad in prefabricated concrete blocks in a warm shade of brown. The whole structure gives the impression of an exceptionally organic building, strongly inspired by the Chapel at Ronchamp.

Pacanowski’s designs were characterised by a careful integration of the structure into the natural environment, clarity of architectural language, and the originality of structural elements and materials (with particular emphasis on the potential of reinforced concrete), which were the result of the architect’s experiments within the modernist movement of the post-war period.

‘His logical process, which unifies all his endeavours, in which the choice of forms, various visual solutions, structural ideas and landscape themes, creates his own architectural “style”. Mediterranean and purist motifs, Loos’s psychologism , Le Corbusier’s style and technical innovations are interwoven throughout his entire body of work, which reveals a firm condemnation of ‘false architecture’ and an articulated interest in the constructive potential of reinforced concrete and glass.”

Alongside architecture, Pacanowski’s passion was the cultivation of plants and flowers . He even wrote several articles for magazines on this subject. In one of them, he wrote about his favourite species of cactus , *Selenicereus grandiflorus* ( the wolf’s-mouth cereus), which blooms for just one night a year. This love of nature is evident in the architect’s work, as he seamlessly integrated his designs into the natural environment without dominating or degrading it. As Massimiliano Savorra writes : “His designs reflect a thoughtful experimentalism through which he seeks harmony between the designed space and the landscape.”

Meanwhile, M. L. Neri , in the book Davide Pacanowski . Decano, emphasises: “Nature/human/structure/form – these are the key words for interpreting his architectural vision”.

Davide Pacanowski died in 1998 in Rome at the age of 92. With the rabbi’s special permission, his body was cremated and his ashes rest at the Campo Verano cemetery in Rome . The architect’s daughter , Mirta, recalls her father as follows:

“My father was loved by everyone. He had extraordinary charisma. He never compromised, and through this he gave meaning to the great values of existence. He led an extraordinary life; he was always on the move. […] My strongest memory is of his eyes, which radiated loyalty, joy and serenity.”

The architect’s family provided support in the writing of this text: his daughter Mirta Pacanowski and his son Andrea Pacanowski , to whom I would like to express my sincere thanks here.

In 2017 the family donated the entire archive relating to the architect’s work to the Central State Archives ( Archivio Centrale dello Stato). An inventory containing a biography, a list of projects and a description of the documents processed can be downloaded as a PDF from the website.