We could ask ourselves the meaning of the word “supernatural“, perhaps considering it simply a noun that takes the concept of naturality – of the environment, of the landscape – to its most extreme dimension, a sort of super ecology, which is something we certainly feel desperately in need of, to combat the threat against humanity deriving from climate change and the lack of attention to environmental themes, when it comes to human activities. On the other hand, I consider the word a contemporary synonym for architecture or, to use Ruskin’s words “…any alteration of the earth’s surface except pure desert…“ implemented by the man who sets himself the problem of finding the balance between the need to live in a place and the need to preserve the ecosystem in which we live. A sort of “super-architecture“, capable of radicalizing the idea of a peaceful and balanced cohabitation between the individual, the collectivity and the environment. Certainly, these are not new issues, nor are they issues which have not already been explored. On the contrary, they reinforce and revitalize a well-known theme to which, for example, Paolo Portoghesi has devoted the most recent portion of his critical activism for more than a decade now with his magazine “Abitare la terra“ (Life on Earth), which is not simply a title but a full-fledged program for the comprehension of reality and contemporary life completely derived from nature.

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