With the book The Geometries of San Marco, Marco Lazzarato offers a modern reinterpretation and presents in a clear and immediate way the use of 97 geometric patterns found in the floor of the Basilica of San Marco, aimed at everyone involved in surface decoration. The book, addressed to both professionals and art enthusiasts, provides ready-to-use models as well as inspiration for creating new designs.
In contrast to current publishing trends, Marco Lazzarato employs graphic diagrams rather than photographs to highlight the purity of the geometries, making it easier for readers to understand how to reproduce or invent new ones.
This ambitious, pragmatic, and philosophical teaching method requires a deep understanding of art and the ability to use all available resources without ever losing sight of the entire process. The book reveals the “workshop secrets”—the skill of composing individual problems with a unifying vision, supported by an all-encompassing grid that rationalizes the work.
Another notable aspect of the book (evident in the foreword by Terenzio Zanini and also present in Lazzarato’s text) concerns the ethics of “good” form—that is, a harmoniously structured form, which is all too often neglected in today’s design culture.
This neglect leads to a loss of identity and competitiveness for those production districts that, out of excessive caution or laziness, prefer not to address it. The solution proposed by the book is a cultural and entrepreneurial strategy aimed at educating the system, starting precisely with those who imagine and design form.
