1802-1870 French Archaeologist and Diplomat Paul Emile Botta was among the first archaeologists to study the ruins of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia. In 1843, he discovered the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon II near what is now Khorsabad,...

Paul-Émile Botta (December 6, 1802 – March 29, 1870) was French Consul in Mosul (then in the Ottoman Empire, now in Iraq) since 1842. Born in Torino, Italy, He excavated in Kuyundshik (Niniveh) in 1842 and in Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad) in 1843. Botta...

THE ARCHITECTURE OF MARIO BOTTA Introduction by Christian Norberg-Schultz; Text by Mirko Zardini; Photography by Yukio Futagawa New York: Rizzoli 232 pages, 450 illustrations. Amid the current milieu of historical reference, collage and visual pastiche, one is taken with the singular...

When the annals of 20th-century architecture are recorded, Mario Botta will undoubtedly be cited as one of the innovative forces of the era's last two decades. In Lugano, where he has practiced architecture and design since 1969, it is common for visitors to...