Casabella

Casabella is an Italian monthly architecture and design magazine founded in Milan in 1928 by Guido Marangoni. Originally titled La Casa Bella, the publication began as a journal concerned with the home and its design before becoming one of Italy's long-running specialist periodicals for architectural criticism, documentation, and project presentation. Its editorial identity has repeatedly evolved with the architectural debates of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, while retaining a focus on modern architecture, experimental practice, radical design, and the relationship between buildings, objects, and broader cultural conditions. The magazine adopted the name Casabella in 1933, when architect Giuseppe Pagano became editor. Later editorial periods introduced further title variations, including Casabella Continuità, Casabella Costruzioni, and Costruzioni Casabella. These changes reflected shifts in editorial direction and in the magazine's engagement with architectural history, modernism, postwar reconstruction, and contemporary practice. The publication has served both as a record of architectural work and as a forum for debate about design methods, urban form, technology, and the role of the architect. Casabella has been associated with a substantial network of influential architects, designers, critics, and scholars. Creative and editorial contributors have included Franco Albini, Gae Aulenti, and Marco Zanuso. The magazine has also published work by figures such as the architectural historian and curator Barry Bergdoll and has been connected with the semiotician Giovanni Klaus Koenig. Through interviews, essays, project documentation, and visual presentation, it has brought the work and ideas of prominent architects to a specialist readership. Important editorial leadership periods include Ernesto Nathan Rogers's tenure from 1953 to 1965 and Vittorio Gregotti's editorship from 1981 to 1996. Rogers's period was associated with the title Casabella Continuità and with an effort to position modern architecture in a critical relationship with historical continuity. Gregotti's later editorship represented another significant phase in the magazine's engagement with architectural theory and contemporary practice. After Gregotti, Francesco Dal Co became editor. Casabella is published by Gruppo Mondadori and has maintained a recurring monthly format. A reported 2014 circulation figure was approximately 45,000 copies, although no current circulation figure is established in the supplied sources.

Casabella began in Milan in 1928 under the name La Casa Bella, a title that expressed its original concern with the design and culture of the home. It was founded by Guido Marangoni and developed within the Italian architectural and design press during a period when modernist ideas were becoming increasingly influential. In 1933, architect Giuseppe Pagano assumed the editorship and changed the title to Casabella, establishing the shorter name under which the publication became widely known. The magazine's identity changed again during the postwar decades. Ernesto Nathan Rogers edited it from 1953 to 1965, and during this period it was known as Casabella Continuità. The title expressed an editorial interest in relating modern architecture to historical and cultural continuity rather than treating modernism as a complete break with the past. Other title forms used during the publication's history included Casabella Costruzioni and Costruzioni Casabella. Following Rogers's departure, the magazine returned to the simpler title Casabella. Across its history, the periodical has combined architectural criticism with presentations of buildings, interiors, objects, and design ideas. It has published or featured work by significant architects and designers, including Franco Albini, Gae Aulenti, and Marco Zanuso. Its contributors have also included critics, historians, and scholars. Barry Bergdoll, associated with the architecture and design department of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, contributed articles, while semiotician Giovanni Klaus Koenig was also connected with the journal. These collaborations helped place Casabella within an international exchange of architectural and design ideas rather than limiting it to Italian professional affairs. Vittorio Gregotti edited the magazine from 1981 through 1996. His tenure formed another major editorial chapter, linking the publication to debates about architectural theory, urbanism, design practice, and the interpretation of contemporary work. Francesco Dal Co subsequently took over the editorial role. The magazine has continued as a monthly publication under Gruppo Mondadori, covering architecture and product design with a particular emphasis on modern, experimental, and radical approaches. A circulation of about 45,000 copies was reported for 2014. The supplied reference material does not establish a more recent circulation figure, a separate digital business structure, or a current editor beyond identifying Francesco Dal Co as the post-Gregotti editor.

1. 2014Reported circulation

   The magazine was reported to have circulation of approximately 45,000 copies in 2014.

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2. 1996Francesco Dal Co takes editorial helm

   After Gregotti's departure, Francesco Dal Co became editor of Casabella.

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3. 1981Vittorio Gregotti becomes editor

   Architect Vittorio Gregotti assumed the editorship, beginning a leadership period that lasted until 1996.

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4. 1965End of Rogers's editorship

   Ernesto Nathan Rogers's editorial period ended after twelve years of leadership.

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5. 1953Ernesto Nathan Rogers begins editorship

   Ernesto Nathan Rogers took over editorial leadership, during a period in which the magazine used the title Casabella Continuità.

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6. 1933Adoption of the Casabella title

   Architect Giuseppe Pagano became editor and changed the magazine's name from La Casa Bella to Casabella.

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7. 1928Foundation in Milan

   Guido Marangoni founded the publication in Milan under the original title La Casa Bella.

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A specialist Italian architecture and design publication positioned around critical modernism, contemporary architectural practice, radical design, project documentation, and informed cultural commentary.

• CasabellaArchitecture and design magazine1928

  The core monthly publication covers modern architecture, contemporary buildings, interior and product design, architectural criticism, interviews, and theoretical or historical commentary. Its editorial approach combines visual documentation of projects with essays that place architecture within wider cultural, social, and intellectual debates. The magazine is especially associated with modern and radical design discourse and with coverage of prominent architects and designers.

• 1996Appointment of Francesco Dal CoOther

  Vittorio Gregotti's editorship ended after fifteen years.

  What changed. Francesco Dal Co took over the editorial helm.

  Aftermath. Casabella continued its specialist architecture and design publishing role under Dal Co's leadership.

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• 1981Appointment of Vittorio GregottiOther

  Casabella entered a new editorial phase in the early 1980s.

  What changed. Vittorio Gregotti became editor in 1981.

  Aftermath. Gregotti remained editor until 1996, overseeing another substantial period of architectural and theoretical coverage.

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• 1953Editorial shift toward continuityStrategy

  Ernesto Nathan Rogers became editor during a period of intense postwar discussion about modern architecture and its relationship with history.

  What changed. The magazine adopted the title Casabella Continuità under Rogers's editorial leadership.

  Aftermath. The title emphasized an editorial position that connected modern architectural practice with historical and cultural continuity.

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• 1933Repositioning under the Casabella nameStrategy

  The publication had operated since 1928 as La Casa Bella, and architect Giuseppe Pagano became editor in 1933.

  What changed. Pagano changed the title to Casabella, creating the enduring core identity of the magazine.

  Aftermath. The publication later used additional title variants, but ultimately returned to Casabella.

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1. Casabella
2. Casabella 1928-2008