Loi Mariacristina

Associate Professor

Maria Cristina Loi graduated in 1986 in Architecture from “La Sapienza,” Rome. In 1989 she earned a “Master of Arts” from the Art History and Archaeology Department of Columbia University, New York, for which she was awarded the “President Fellowship.” In 1995, she received her PhD in History of Architecture from “La Sapienza”.
The main research themes that she has developed over the years and continues to explore are:
-American architecture, its origins and evolution after the Independence.
-Architectural drawing in the modern and contemporary ages and its relationship with the Visual
Arts. These studies gave rise to the project "Italy outside Italy, Italian drawings in American collections," in collaboration with the New York Institute of Technology.
-Italian architecture between the 16th and 20th centuries.
Mariacristina Loi has been teaching and conducting research since 1990, and as Assistant Professor since 2002, at the Politecnico di Milano at Milan, Mantua, and Xi'an (XJTU-Polimi Joint School).
In 2016, she obtained the National Scientific Qualification for Associate Professor (ASN 2012).
In 2019, she became Associate Professor.
In 2022, she obtained the National Scientific Habilitation as Full Professor (ASN 2021-2023).
From 2015 to 2018, she was a member of the PhD Council of the Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano.
From November 2025 she is member of the council of the PhD "Architettura Storia e Progetto", Politecnico di Torino.
She has published several essays in several scientific journals and books and participated in numerous conferences and seminars in Italy and abroad, both as a speaker and curator.
She has curated or collaborated on several exhibitions in Italy, Switzerland, Spain and the United
States. She has participated in several MURST and PRIN projects, as a member of the unit of Politecnico di Milano
Language skills:
Excellent knowledge of English, written and spoken.
Good knowledge of French, German, Latin.

The main research themes that she has developed over the years and continues to explore are:

American architecture, its origins and evolution after the Independence.
Architectural drawing in the modern and contemporary ages and its relationship with the Visual Arts. These studies gave rise to the project "Italy outside Italy, Italian drawings in American collections," in collaboration with the New York Institute of Technology.
Italian architecture between the 16th and 20th centuries. Mariacristina Loi has been teaching and conducting research since 1990, and as Assistant Professor since 2002, at the Politecnico di Milano at Milan, Mantua, and Xi'an (XJTU-Polimi Joint School).

In 2016, she obtained the National Scientific Qualification for Associate Professor (ASN 2012). In 2019, she became Associate Professor. In 2022, she obtained the National Scientific Habilitation as Full Professor (ASN 2021-2023). From 2015 to 2018, she was a member of the PhD Council of the Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering, Politecnico di Milano. From November 2025 she is member of the council of the PhD "Architettura Storia e Progetto", Politecnico di Torino.

She has published several essays in several scientific journals and books and participated in numerous conferences and seminars in Italy and abroad, both as a speaker and curator. She has curated or collaborated on several exhibitions in Italy, Switzerland, Spain and the United States.

She has participated in several MURST and PRIN projects, as a member of the unit of Politecnico di Milano

Language skills: Excellent knowledge of English, written and spoken. Good knowledge of French, German, Latin.

Career

1986, Sapienza University of Rome Bachelor of Architecture – 110/110 cum laude Thesis: "The Use of Classical Types in the Architecture of Thomas Jefferson" Advisor: Professor Arnaldo Bruschi – Co-Advisor: Professor Luigi Gazzola.

1995, Sapienza University of Rome

1989, Columbia University, New York - Art History and Archaeology Department

Master of Arts Recipient of a President's Fellowship Award Final Project: "Thomas Jefferson's Rotunda: University of Virginia - Charlottesville" Advisor: Professor David Rosand

1995, PhD in History of Architecture Thesis: "The Architectural Activity of Cristoforo Lombardo, known as Lombardino (1490s–1555)" Advisor: Professor Arnaldo Bruschi

Research

The Origins of North American Architecture Thomas Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence" for the architecture of the new nation, the influence of European architecture on the colonies and, subsequently, on the young nation, the influence of American architecture on Europe, and the phenomenon of Palladianism in America, constitute the core of this field of research. The most recent research focuses on the complex relationship that Thomas Jefferson established with European culture, particularly Italian, identifying the influence that the latter had on the development of 18th-century North American architecture and the repercussions it continues to have today. The results of these studies are addressed in various phases of the "Rome-Washington" project, launched with the Study Day at the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca in 2022 (Proceedings forthcoming). The project focuses on the planning and development of the city of Washington (the United States Capitol, the Mall, and the White House) and the evolving relationship between the two capitals up until the 20th century.
Modern and Contemporary Architectural Drawing and Its Relationship to the Visual Arts Architectural drawing can be considered both as a reference point and essential working tool in the architect's creative process and as a work of art in its own right. The research is based on the analysis of original architectural drawings and the development of schematics, analytical diagrams, redrawings used to study and interpret them. Some aspects of this research are aimed at analyzing how the architect's design process and the practice of architecture as a whole have developed and changed since the "revolutionary" introduction of computers and CAD and, today, Artificial Intelligence. In recent years, research has focused on Italian drawings held in collections in London and New York, and the "Italy outside Italy" project (16th-20th centuries) is underway, dedicated to collections of Italian drawings in the United States.
Italian Architecture, 15th-20th Centuries The main themes explored include the relationship between tradition and innovation, architectural treatises and their circulation, and the relationship between Architecture, Painting, and Sculpture. This research covers a broad chronological span and encompasses multiple cultural and geographical contexts, but focuses particularly on Milanese and Lombard architecture. The most extensively researched themes are Milan's identity, the evolution of the "palazzo" typology, the development of residential architecture from the 15th to the 20th century, and the Milanese colony of the Accademia dell'Arcadia and its garden. Further studies have been conducted on some key figures of the modern and contemporary eras.

Selected Publications

Il disegno come laboratorio interdisciplinare della storia dell'architettura, in “Opus Incertum”, n.s. anno XI, 2025, pp. 72-83
Italian artists and craftsmen in North America (late 18th-19th century), in Construction Innovations: Materials, Processes and Systems, a cura di James W. Campbell, The Construction History Society, Cambridge, UK, 2025, pp. 207-220 (con Monica Resmini)
Il Regno d’Italia, la Francia napoleonica e gli Stati Uniti d’America. Sul tema dell’educazione, in Tra Parigi e Milano. La corte napoleonica e le sue relazioni internazionali, a cura di Paola Cordera, Giovanna D’Amia, Jörg Ebeling, Elena Riva, Mimesis Edizioni, Sesto San Giovanni
(Milano) 2024, pp. 147-157
The Milanese Colony of the Arcadian Academy, in Gardens and Academies in Early Modern Italy and Beyond, a cura di Denis Ribouillault, Brill, Leiden, 2024, pp. 426-445
La scoperta del Mediterraneo di un viaggiatore della Virginia: Thomas Jefferson in Italia (1787), in I viaggi dell’architetto: la scoperta della natura e l’invenzione del paesaggio. Percezione, analisi
e interpretazione dei territori oltre l’architettura, 1750-1989, a cura di Gemma Belli, Fabio Mangone, Rosa Sessa, Campisano, Roma 2024, pp. 51-61
Thomas Jefferson: Rome in America, a cura di Tommaso Manfredi, Atti dell’Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, “Quaderni degli Atti 2017-2018”, Roma 2023, pp. 229-238
L’Italia di Thomas Jefferson, I. Il Viaggio in Italia, Aion, Firenze 2021
Una “firma” di Giulio Romano: la colonna tortile, Atti dell’Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, “Quaderni degli Atti 2019-2020”, 2021, Roma, pp. 261-270
Magnificenza civile, in “Ananke”, vol. 91, 2020, pp. 32-37
Origins and Development of the American Campus: The “Academical Village” of Thomas Jefferson, in Buildings for Education A Multidisciplinary Overview of The Design of School Buildings, a cura di Stefano Della Torre, Massimiliano Bocciarelli, Laura Daglio, Raffaella Neri, Springer, 2020, pp. 84-94

Grants, awards and Honours

Spring 2023: United States Capitol Historical Society Fellowship to conduct research on Italian artists at the Capitoline Hill Fall 2019: United States Capitol Historical Society Fellowship to conduct research on Italian artists at the Capitoline Hill (renewed for May 2020, but postponed to 2023 due to the health emergency)

Fall 2018: Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies Fellowship, Charlottesville, VA, to conduct research on Thomas Jefferson and Filippo Mazzei

2018: Piranesi Prix de Rome with Federico Bucci, Eduardo Souto de Moura, John Pinto, Barbara Bogoni, Paulo David, Marco Introini, Maria Cristina Loi, Angelo Lorenzi, et al. (Mantua Campus, Milan Polytechnic)

2017: FFABR Research Grant from the Ministry of University and Research

Community Service

2025 - ongoing - Member of the Teaching Board of the PhD Program in "Architecture History and Projects", Polytechnic University of Turin

2022 - ongoing: Delegate of the Director of the ABC Department for Relations with Universities and Other Cultural Institutes in the USA

2016 - 2021: Member of the Joint Committee, School of Architecture, Urban Planning and Construction Engineering (AUIC)

2017 - 2018: Member of the Evaluation Committee for Scholarships and Internships for International Students, Polytechnic University of Milan 2015 - 2023: Member of the Board of Directors of the UNESCO Chair in "Architectural Preservation and Planning in World Heritage Cities", Politecnico of Milano, Mantua Campus

2015 - 2018: Member of the Teaching Board of the PhD Program in Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering (ABC), Politecnico of Milano

2012: Scientific Director of the Albe and Lica Steiner Archives Milan Polytechnic 2003–2008 Secretary of the Degree Course Council in Architecture (CCS), School of Civil Architecture, Politecnico of Milano

2003–2008 Member of the Exhibition Committee, Department of Architectural Design (DPA), Politecnico of Milano

Since 2002, non-continuous member of the evaluation committees for admission to the Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD programs; as well as member of evaluation committees for the assignment of courses.