TASTE FOR THE PAST: ARCHITECT PIER CARLO BONTEMPI IS PROVIDED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE.

THIS IS HOW ARCHITECT PIER CARLO BONTEMPI WELCOMED US TO HIS OFFICE.

BONTEMPI, HIS STAFF AND HIS FAMILY SET A BEAUTIFUL TABLE TO SHARE A MEAL OF TRADITIONAL FOODS FROM PARMA IN NORTHERN ITALY -- SALAMIS, PROSCIUTTO DI PARMA, LAMBRUSCO, AND, OF COURSE, THE FAMOUS CHEESE PARMIGIANO REGGIANO.

BONTEMPI'S REVERENCE FOR LOCAL TRADITION IS THE MAIN THEME THAT RUNS THROUGH HIS LIFE, AND HIS WORK AS AN ARCHITECT.

AND HE BELIEVES THIS GIVES HIS BUILDINGS A KIND OF HUMANITY THAT TODAY'S ARCHITECTURE DESPERATELY NEEDS.

LIKE A WARM GATHERING AROUND A TRADITIONAL DINNER TABLE.

HIS BUILDINGS, YOU THINK THEY HAVE BEEN THERE FOR A WHILE, BECAUSE THEY ARE A PART OF THE LANGUAGE.

THEY REALLY SPEAK THAT REFINED LANGUAGE OF TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE, WHICH ITALY HAS BEEN CHAMPIONING FOR MORE THAN 2,000 YEARS.

THIS VILLA, WHICH BONTEMPI DESIGNED IN 2001 FOR A HILLTOP VINEYARD NOT FAR FROM HIS STUDIO, IS A GOOD EXAMPLE.

ONE REASON IT LOOKS SO OLD IS BECAUSE IT'S HAND CRAFTED USING TRADITIONAL MATERIALS AND CENTURIES-OLD BUILDING TECHNIQUES.

IT BLENDS IN SO SEAMLESSLY WITH NEARBY BUILDINGS ALONG A HISTORIC PILGRIMAGE ROUTE THAT IT HAS FOOLED PASSERSBY, A FACT BONTEMPI LOVES.

HE IS ONE OF THE RARE ARCHITECTS IN ITALY AND IN EUROPE WHO DOES TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE COMPETENTLY.

BONTEMPI'S FATHER INTRODUCED THE YOUNG PIER CARLO TO ARCHITECTURE.

AND HE INTRODUCED HIMSELF TO US.

BONTEMPI'S FATHER WAS A GEOMETRA.

THAT'S A SKILLED LIAISON BETWEEN THE ARCHITECTS AND THE BUILDERS.

THROUGH HIM, PIER CARLO MET ARCHITECTS HE STILL REMEMBERS.

BONTEMPI HAS LIVED AND WORKED IN THE EMILIA ROMAGNA REGION OF NORTHERN ITALY HIS ENTIRE LIFE.

AND THE OLD HOUSE HE LIVES IN HAS BEEN PASSED, NOT FROM FATHER TO SON, BUT FROM ARTIST TO ARTIST.

IN THE 19TH CENTURY, CELEBRATED LOCAL ARTIST RICCARDO FAINARDI OWNED IT.

FAINARDI PASSED IT DOWN TO ONE OF HIS STUDENTS, WHO WAS A FRIEND OF BONTEMPI'S FAMILY.

THE RIVER PARMA FLOWS THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF BONTEMPI'S HOME TOWN.

GETTING LOST IN THE OLD STREETS OF THIS ANCIENT CITY IS LIKE TIME TRAVELING.

EVEN THE NEWER BUILDINGS ARE HUNDREDS OF YEARS OLD, AND MANY DATE FROM THE RENAISSANCE, AND EVEN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD.

WE ASSOCIATE ITALY WITH HISTORICAL GREATNESS IN ARCHITECTURE.

THE ITALIANS THINK OF TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS AS JUST PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE.

THIS ARCHITECTURE IS TO DO WITH WHERE WE FEEL COMFORTABLE.

IT'S EXTREMELY OLD EXPERIENCE.

WE KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE.

THE MOST ATTRACTIVE PLACES ACTUALLY IN THE WORLD ARE DONE THAT WAY.

IF YOU STROLLED THE CITY IN CENTURIES PAST, YOU MIGHT HAVE BUMPED INTO THE PAINTER OF PARMA'S CATHEDRAL DOME, ANTONIO DA CORREGGIO, OR GIAMBATTISTA BODONI, DESIGNER OF THE BODONI TYPEFACE, OR OPERA COMPOSER GIUSEPPE VERDI.

SUCH A TENDER, LITERALLY LOVING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WINDING STREETS, THE COBBLESTONES, THE MARKETS, THE CHURCH.

THAT WOULD BE ONE OF THE GREAT ATTRACTIONS OF ITALY, IS THIS LONG, LONG STORY OF SUCCESSFUL URBAN LIVING.

ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS ABOUT AN ITALIAN TOWN IS THE SURPRISE, THE HAPPENSTANCE, THE WAY YOU CAN BE ON A LITTLE CURVING STREET AND NOT KNOW QUITE WHAT'S AT THE END, AND THEN SUDDENLY IT OPENS UP INTO THIS WONDERFUL PIAZZA.

IT'S THE CROSSROADS.

IT'S WHERE EVERYBODY COMES TOGETHER.

FOR A MODERN DAY ARCHITECT DESIGNING TRADITIONAL BUILDINGS, THESE ANCIENT PIAZZAS ARE FULL OF INSPIRATION.

AT THE 13TH CENTURY BAPTISTERY, BONTEMPI POINTED OUT THE ODD WAY THAT THE TOPS OF THE COLUMNS SUPPORT THE PORCHES ABOVE, CALLED LOGGIA.

THE ARCHITECT SEEMS TO HAVE REJECTED THE TRADITIONAL WAY A HORIZONTAL LINE SITS SOLIDLY ON TOP OF A COLUMN.

DO YOU THINK THAT PIER CARLO, BEING FROM PARMA, THIS IS WHAT'S FAMILIAR TO HIM FROM HIS CHILDHOOD?

TO SHOW ME HOW BONTEMPI HAS APPLIED THE LESSONS OF ANCIENT CITIES, ONE OF HIS COLLEAGUES, FABIO PAOLETTI, TOOK ME TO FONTI DI MATILDE, A SPA TOWN THEY DESIGNED, SURROUNDED BY A GOLF COURSE.

WE ARE IN THE MAIN PUBLIC SPACE OF THE VILLAGE THAT IS THE PIAZZA.

THE MAIN BUILDING IS THE HOTEL, AND NOW YOU CAN SEE THE HOTEL IS CONNECTED WITH THE COVERED GALLERY TO THE SPA.

WHICH IS OVER THERE.

WHICH IS OVER THERE ON RED STUCCO.

AND THAT SIDE IS THE FORESTERIA, LIKE IN ITALIAN VILLAS.

FORESTERIA, WHAT IS THAT?

FORESTERIA IS A GUESTHOUSE.

OH, THE GUESTHOUSE.

OK.

SO THE HOTEL IS ALSO SUBDIVIDED IN A MAIN BUILDING, AND THEN IN A GUESTHOUSE.

SO YOU'RE TRYING TO CREATE A SENSE OF A VILLAGE THAT GREW NATURALLY OVER TIME.

EXACTLY.

SO THIS IS THE MAIN LOGGIA OF THE SPA.

IT REALLY IS AN ENSEMBLE PLANNING, THAT THERE'S A LOGIC TO IT.

WHEN YOU SEE IT, YOU FEEL IT.

YOU REALLY DON'T NEED AN EXPLANATION.

HE'S FIGURED OUT HOW TO RECREATE HAPPENSTANCE IN A CONVINCING WAY.

AND IT'S GOT TO BE CONVINCING ENOUGH SO THAT IT'S SOMETHING YOU ENJOY SEEING DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY.

SOMETHING SUBTLE ENOUGH, SO THAT IT STILL BRINGS YOU PLEASURE.

IT CAN'T BE JUST SOME BIG WOW SURPRISE THAT YOU'VE SEEN IT ONCE AND THAT'S IT, AND IT NO LONGER INTERESTS YOU.

PIER CARLO BONTEMPI HAS TRIED TO PUSH BACK A LITTLE BIT AGAINST THE ITALIAN TENDENCY TO BE TOO CASUAL ABOUT THE PAST; TO TAKE IT FOR GRANTED.

GIUSEPPE GRECI HAS BEEN WORKING FOR BONTEMPI SINCE GRECI WAS A TEENAGER.

HE ARRIVED AS A SHY YOUNG MAN NOT LONG OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL, WITH A TALENT FOR PAINTING AND NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH HIS LIFE.

AFTER THAT TRIAL RUN, BONTEMPI HIRED HIM TO CREATE WATERCOLOR PAINTINGS OF THE FIRM'S DESIGNS, AN ALL-BUT-LOST TRADITION IN TODAY'S AGE OF COMPUTER RENDERING.

WITH BONTEMPI'S GUIDANCE, GRECI EVENTUALLY GREW INTO A FULL-FLEDGED DESIGNER.

BONTEMPI'S DESCRIPTION OF ITALY WAS ONE OF THE MOST POETIC THINGS HE SAID TO ME.

HE CALLED IT A GRAND MASTERPIECE BUILT BY FARMERS, ARCHITECTS, CONSTRUCTION WORKERS, AND ENGINEERS.

YOU GO OUTSIDE THE TRADITIONAL URBAN CORE OF A LOT OF GREAT EUROPEAN CITIES AND IT'S A DISASTER.

I WAS IN NIMES, IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE.

IT'S THIS JUST BEAUTIFUL TRADITIONAL CENTER WITH THE MOST PERFECTLY PRESERVED ROMAN TEMPLE.

YOU GO A COUPLE OF MILES AWAY FROM THERE, YOU COULD BE IN NEW JERSEY.

I MEAN, IT JUST...

THE WHOLE THING JUST FALLS APART INTO SPRAWL.

YOU CAN SEE IT IN ALMOST EVERY CITY THAT, AS YOU ARRIVE, LET'S SAY COMING IN FROM THE AIRPORT OR SOMETHING, IT'S A DREADFUL EXPERIENCE.

AND IT'S DISCOURAGING THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE MORE ARCHITECTURALLY TO DO WITH THE OLD CITY.

IN MANY CASES THE OLD CITIES THEMSELVES AREN'T WHAT THEY USED TO BE.

SO MUCH OF EUROPE WAS DESTROYED IN THE WAR.

ALL OF THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES HAD A LOT TO THINK ABOUT AND COPE WITH WHEN THEY WERE PLANNING HOW TO REBUILD.

THIS BUILDING WAS BOMBED IN 1944, DURING WORLD WAR II.

BOMBS CAME IN FROM THE ROOF.

A LOT OF STUFF BURNED.

IT ALL BURNED.

TEATRO FARNESE WAS BUILT IN 1618.

IN MANY PLACES AROUND EUROPE, RUINED BUILDINGS LIKE THESE WERE TORN DOWN AND REPLACED BY MODERN STRUCTURES.

BUT THIS ONE WAS CAREFULLY RESTORED.

MATTEO CASOLA, AN ENGINEER IN BONTEMPI'S OFFICE, SAID THIS RE-CONSTRUCTION FROM THE 1950S HAS BEEN AN INSPIRATION TO BONTEMPI.

WHEN YOU REBUILD SOMETHING, IT'S JUST LIKE KEEPING THIS ALIVE.

THE DESIGN OF THIS THEATRE WAS SOMETHING IMPORTANT.

EVEN IF THE MATERIAL WAS BURNED THE IDEA WAS THIS THEATRE WAS STILL ALIVE.

OF COURSE REBUILDING HISTORIC STRUCTURES IS EXPENSIVE.

BUT THERE'S ANOTHER REASON MANY WEREN'T SAVED.

THE NAZIS AND FASCISTS HAD USED CLASSICAL ARCHITECTURE AS A SYMBOL.

MOST ARCHITECTURAL SCHOOLS DON'T TEACH THAT CRAFT, NOR THAT KNOWLEDGE, NOR THE VOCABULARY.

THIS IS PROFESSOR AND ARCHITECT, ADOLFO NATALINI.

NINETEEN EIGHTY ONE.

HE REMEMBERS BONTEMPI IN THE 70S AND 80S AS ONE OF HIS STAR PUPILS, AND HE'S SAVED SOME OF BONTEMPI'S STUDENT WORK.

IN THE 60S, NATALINI HAD FOUNDED SUPERSTUDIO, A GROUP OF ARCHITECTS BEST KNOWN AS WHAT THEY CALLED THE CONTINUOUS MONUMENT, A WHITE GRID-LIKE BUILDING THAT STRETCHED ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE LIKE A SUPERHIGHWAY.

IT WAS A SLY CRITIQUE OF THE MODERNIST DREAM OF A UNIVERSAL SOLUTION TO ALL DESIGN AND LIVING NEEDS.

BUT LATER, WHEN BONTEMPI WAS A STUDENT, NATALINI WAS UP TO SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT.

NATALINI INFLUENCED BONTEMPI IN ANOTHER WAY.

HE INTRODUCED HIM TO THE ARCHITECT AND URBAN PLANNER LéON KRIER.

KRIER IS AN OUTSPOKEN CRUSADER FOR BUILDING HUMAN-SCALE CITIES USING A FAMILIAR, TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURAL VOCABULARY.

THE HUMAN SCALE IS ACTUALLY SOMETHING WHICH HAS TO DO WITH DIMENSION, AND WITH THE WAY TOWNS AND SOCIETIES ARE STRUCTURED.

MAYBE KRIER'S MOST FAMOUS WORK IS THE PLAN FOR THE TRADITIONAL TOWN OF POUNDBURY.

PRINCE CHARLES CHOSE KRIER TO DESIGN THIS NEW DISTRICT OF DORCHESTER IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND.

KRIER'S DESIGN DRAWS ON HIS RESEARCH INTO LIVABLE AND HUMANE URBAN PLANNING.

A LARGE TOWN IS NOT AN EXTENSION OF A SMALL TOWN, BUT IT'S JUST A REPETITION OF SMALL TOWNS.

IT MEASURES ONE KILOMETER ACROSS, TEN MINUTES.

YOU WALK ACROSS AND YOU JUST REPEATED IT.

TWENTY-FIVE MILES EAST OF PARIS, A NUMBER OF ARCHITECTS, INCLUDING PIER CARLO BONTEMPI, ARE APPLYING THESE KINDS OF LESSONS IN TRADITIONAL TOWN PLANNING AT VAL D'EUROPE.

IT'S A BRAND NEW TOWN THEY'RE BUILDING FOR THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, NEXT DOOR TO DISNEYLAND PARIS.

DISNEY MIGHT BE THE DEVELOPER HERE, BUT THE PLANNERS OF VAL D'EUROPE BRISTLE AT ANY SUGGESTION THAT IT'S "DISNEY-ESQUE."

DISNEY COMMISSIONED BONTEMPI TO DESIGN AN ITALIAN PIAZZA, CALLED PLACE DE TOSCANE, AS THE GATEWAY TO THE SHOPPING MALL IN THE HEART OF THIS FRENCH SUBURB.

WHY AN ITALIAN PIAZZA?

PARIS-BASED ARCHITECT MAURICE CULOT, WHO HAS ALSO DESIGNED BUILDINGS AT VAL D'EUROPE, CO-WROTE A BOOK ABOUT THIS PIAZZA.

THE FOUNTAIN?

YES.

BUT SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY IT'S NOT OF OUR TIME.

A CHAIN, YES.

LIKE A LINK TO HISTORY.

IT FEELS LIKE A REAL SQUARE.

IT'S VERY RARE IN MODERN DEVELOPMENTS.

LIKE A WOMB.

YOU KNOW, TO DO THIS KIND OF TRADITIONAL WORK WELL, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND DETAIL... AND THE ROOF HEIGHTS, RIGHT, ARE DIFFERENT?

AND THE TYPES OF ROOFS?

BUT IT'S NOT A PICTURE OF THAT.

IT'S THE ACTUAL EXPERIENCE OF IT.

IT HAS TO LOOK EASY, EVEN THOUGH IN FACT IT WAS HARD.

BONTEMPI'S WORK FOR DISNEY MIGHT BE ROOTED IN REALITY, BUT HIS NEWEST PROJECT IS PURE FANTASY.

IT'S A CULTURAL CENTER AND AN ENORMOUS PYRAMID SHAPED CHURCH.

THEY'RE INSPIRED BY THE FANTASTICAL VISIONS OF 18TH CENTURY ARCHITECTS CLAUDE-NICHOLAS LEDOUX, JEAN-JACQUES LEQUEU, AND ESPECIALLY, ETIENNE-LOUIS BOULLEE, WHO PROPOSED A COLOSSAL SPHERE AND TOWERING PYRAMID AS A MEMORIAL TO SIR ISAAC NEWTON.

THE ENTIRE PROJECT IS THE DREAM OF THIS MAN, ITALIAN PUBLISHER FRANCO MARIA RICCI.

THE CULTURAL CENTER WILL BE A PERMANENT PUBLIC HOME FOR HIS VAST COLLECTION OF BOOKS BY AND ABOUT GIAMBATTISTA BODONI, THE 18TH CENTURY TYPOGRAPHER AND PARMA NATIVE.

RICCI'S LOVE OF BODONI INSPIRED HIS ULTRA-SUCCESSFUL CAREER IN PUBLISHING.

...CALLED BY HIS OWN INITIALS... MORE LIKE A VALUABLE BOOK WHENEVER YOU PICKED IT UP.

SORT OF A WORK OF ART.

THE CONSTRUCTION SITE WAS LIKE A LAKE OF MUD THE DAY WE VISITED.

BUT FROM THE TOP OF THE CULTURAL CENTER'S TOWER, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE PYRAMID STANDS AT THE CENTER OF WHAT RICCI CLAIMS IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST LABYRINTH.

IT'S MADE OF LIVE BAMBOO TREES.

OR IF YOU'RE LOST IN IT, I SUPPOSE MORE LIKE THIRTY KILOMETERS.

BUT BEYOND THE FANTASY, THERE'S A SPIRITUAL MEANING TO THIS MAZE FOR RICCI.

AND FOR BONTEMPI TOO.

IT'S CAPTURED IN A BOOK ABOUT LABYRINTHS BY RICCI'S FRIEND, THE ARGENTINIAN WRITER JORGE LUIS BORGES.

(ANNOUNCER) MAJOR FUNDING FOR "A TASTE FOR THE PAST: ARCHITECT PIER CARLO BONTEMPI IS PROVIDED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE.