Maria Clara Ghia, Architect, Assistant Professor in History of Architecture, holds a PhD in “Architecture - Theories and Design” as well as in “Philosophy”, with an interdisciplinary dissertation jointly supervised between Italy (Sapienza University of Rome) and France (Jean Moulin University Lyon 3, Lyon).
She teaches History of Modern and Contemporary Architecture and Theories of Contemporary Architecture at Sapienza University of Rome. In 2020, she also taught History of Applied Arts at the Quasar Institute for Advanced Design. From 2016 to 2018, she was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in the History and Theory of Architecture at Umeå University in Sweden. In 2017, she taught Architecture History within the Master’s program in “Management and Digitization of Cultural Heritage” at John Cabot American University in Rome and was Assistant Professor from 2013 to 2015 at the University of Studies Guglielmo Marconi. Her teaching career started in 2007, giving courses in History of Architecture, Theories of Architecture and Aesthetics at Sapienza University of Rome. During her teaching years, she has conducted seminars at doctoral schools and served as a supervisor and co-supervisor for numerous Theses and Doctoral Dissertations that achieved the highest grades.
She is a member of the Faculty Board of the Doctoral Research program in “Architecture. Theories and Design” and of the TRAUM Laboratory for theories and research on architecture, urbanism, and the world at Sapienza University of Rome.
Her studies primarily focus on the architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries, with particular emphasis on the post-World War II period, especially in Italy, and the works of Leonardo Ricci (1918-1994), Bruno Zevi (1918-2000), Luigi Moretti (1906-1973), Ludovico Quaroni (1911-1987), Giovanni Michelucci (1891-1990), Giancarlo De Carlo (1919-2005), examining the relationships between ethics and architectural design, and between art and architecture in the contemporary context. Her publications include the monographs Architecture as a Living Act. Leonardo Ricci. San Francisco: ORO Editions, 2022; La nostra città è tutta la terra. Leonardo Ricci architetto (1918-1994). Wuppertal, Steinhäuser Verlag, 2021; Da Roma verso il mare. Storie percorsi immagini della città moderna e contemporanea. Rome: Gangemi, 2017; Prescrivere Liberare. Saggio su ethos e architettura. Officina: Rome, 2013. She has authored numerous essays published in scientific journals, collective volumes, and conference proceedings.
She possesses extensive experience in archival research, interdisciplinary collaborations, and has participated in numerous conferences. She has been and is a member of editorial committees and juries. She collaborates with the Foundation School for Cultural Heritage and Activities and with the General Directorate for Contemporary Creativity of the Ministry of Culture. She has worked in labs such as “Laboratorio di Teorie e Critica dell’Architettura Contemporanea” and “Osservatorio sul Moderno a Roma” at Sapienza University of Rome, promoting forms of scientific knowledge of modern and contemporary architecture to encourage its valorization and preservation. She has been a member of various Research Units, including the one for the PRIN Re-cycle Italy project at Sapienza University of Rome.
She has curated architectural exhibitions, notably the “Leonardo Ricci 100. Writing, painting, and architecture: 100 notes in the margin of the Anonymous of the 20th century” exhibition in 2019 at the Refectory of Santa Maria Novella, Florence.
Since 2018, she has been qualified by the Italian ASN (National Scientific Qualification) for the role of Associate Professor - Competitive Sector 08/E2 Restoration and History of Architecture - Scientific-Disciplinary Sector ICAR 18.
In 2011, she was awarded the International Bruno Zevi Prize, and in 2019, the Enrico Guidoni Prize.
Maria Clara Ghia
