States of Proximity – Privacy under Louis XIV in Versailles, 1682-1715

The PhD project aims to unveil how privacy crystallised through the mutual relationship established between the development of the etiquette achieved by Louis XIV and the increasing complexity of the King rooms' suite in Versailles.

The study focuses on a series of interior spatial devices, which include the King's bedchamber's balustrade, the Cabinet du Conseil, the Appartement Particulier, and the gender division established between the Queen and the Kings estates. These apparatuses are considered under a range of written and visual primary sources to support the terminological inception of the private within the French court. 

During his research, FG has been guest researcher at the Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (gta), ETH Zürich at the Chair Delbeke; he conducted a research stay at Det Danske Insitut i Rom and at the Archivio Apostolico Vaticano. 

About Fabio Gigone
As an architectural historian, Fabio Gigone examines the relationship between architectural devices and private ceremonials in Early Modern contexts. The study benefits from an archeological perspective and aims to unveil the migration of symbols and forms among specific cultures and settings. Beyond academia, Fabio Gigone leads a research-based practice whose core lays in the use of exhibition design as a dissemination strategy. Its outcomes have been published and awarded in international contexts.