A renowned Italian architect, Aldo Rossi (1931-1997), was instrumental in the emergence of a renewed interest in architectural tradition after the 1960s. Examples of his work can be found in Italy, Germany, the United States, and Japan.

Aldo Rossi was born in Milan, Italy, on May 3, 1931. He entered the Polytechnic of Milan in 1949, graduating from the Faculty of Architecture in 1959. While still a student he began contributing to Casabella-continuita, the leading architectural journal in Italy, and served as editor of the magazine from 1960 to 1964. From this position Rossi participated in an ongoing Italian critique of the functionalism and progressivism of the Modern movement, particularly as embodied in the International Style.

In 1966 Rossi's research culminated in an influential first book, The Architecture of the City, which proposed a fundamental continuity between the principles of architecture and urban design. In contrast to a functionalist emphasis on political and economic forces...