The fundamental idea within Aldo Rossi's architectural thinking is deducted from his earliest investigation on the neoclassical architecture, and consists of the following three moments: « realism », the new concept of « tradition », and the conceptual schema of « form - content ». These moments are intimately united in the city, and have the same common base: the Enlightenment reason. This idea consistently characterizes Rossi's architectural thinking, and is further developed according to other different contexts.
