Established by the will of Cesare Cattaneo’sheirs (1912-1943), the archive is housed in the spaces of the Casa d’affitto in Cernobbio (1938-39), universally recognized as the masterpiece of the Como architect. The materials preserved within the archive—sketches, work papers, models, and personal documents—have been collected, inventoried, and cataloged in order to make his rich cultural legacy accessible to scholars and visitors. Inside the rationalist masterpiece, a small museum is set up where numerous models, both original and reconstructed, are on display, providing the public with a visual representation on a smaller scale of his design genius.
The figure of architect Cattaneo became the subject of renewed interest and study by the scientific community during the 1960s, coinciding with the publication of a series of articles by Bruno Zevi in the monthly journal L’architettura. Cronache e storia. In the following decades, his work has been the focus of solo exhibitions and books, such as the famous volume Il Razionalismo e l'architettura in Italiadurante il Fascismo, edited by Silvia Danesi Squarzina and Luciano Patetta. The founding of the Association in June 2000 officially marked the completion of the work of organizing and inventorying all of the architect's materials.
Designed as a living, constantly evolving entity, the archive also houses a significant selection of works and writings by other artists and intellectuals connected to Cattaneo and the cultural ferment of the time, such as Osvaldo Licini and Franco Ciliberti. Today, the archive does not serve an exclusively preservative function; it regularly organizes exhibitions, meetings, and discussions aimed at deepening the understanding of Cattaneo’s figure, his works, and the valuable architectural heritage of Italian rationalism.