PhD Luca Placci is an architectural historian and adjunct professor at the University of Florence at the University of Genoa (Italy), where he is involved in research on the architectural and archival heritage of small Italian municipalities.
He holds a PhD in History of Architecture and the City from the University of Florence, where his doctoral research focused on Alvar Aalto’s formative years and the idea of the “Florence of the North”. His research explores Aalto’s relationship with Italy and the Mediterranean, with particular attention to cultural exchange, landscape, light, materiality and the human experience of architecture.
His research has been supported by the Archivio del Moderno of the Università della Svizzera italiana (Switzerland), where he received the Premio Città di Mendrisio Fellowship (2024), and by the City University of Hong Kong, where he worked as a Research Assistant (2023). He has published and presented his research internationally and is currently developing studies on Aalto’s architecture, its Italian connections, and the cultural significance of its recent recognition as World Heritage.
The public lecture is organised by JYU in cooperation with the Alvar Aalto Society and the Summer University of Jyväskylä. The event is part of the lecture series held by Placci and organised by the Alvar Aalto Society which celebrates its 60 anniversary this year. The whole event programme can be seen on the Alvar Aalto Society's website. The event is also part of the European Heritage Days 2026 Programme as well as part of the Open Alvar Aalto Route Days 2026.
The public lecture is free and open to all. It will be held in English.
The location is the University Main Building (C), the Assembly Hall C1.
More infomration abou the accessibility of the premises can be found here.
