Palazzo della Banca d’Italia is a palace in Bari, located on the Corso Cavour, between the Palazzo della Camera di Commercio and the Petruzzelli Theater. SHORT HISTORY The palace was built in 1926 after a design by the architect Accolti Gil, on an area of about three thousand square meters that previously housed the Mercato Coperto (Covered Market). The works lasted six years and the ribbon was cut in October, 1932. The offices of the Bank were transferred here from its original headquarters located in Via Cairoli. ART AND ARCHITECTURE The palace stands on four levels plus a basement. Valuable elements are the public lounge with its Art Nouveau windows, the large staircase leading to the vault and various bas-reliefs of Carrara marble. On the first floor, there can be found the Sala Consiliare (Council Hall), with its huge central chandelier, the fine coffered ceiling, and the director’s office, which still preserves the furniture of 1934. In the Council Hall, there is also a bronze bust depicting Vittorio Emanuele III, which was found only a few years ago in the basement of the building. Banca d’Italia also commissioned the construction of the fountain in front of the building, Read more [...]
Tag: palace in Bari
Palazzo della Provincia
Palazzo della Provincia is a palace in Bari, part of the larger monumental transformation project of the Lungomare Nazario Sauro during the first decades of the 20th century, which hosts today the Pinacoteca Metropolitana di Bari Corrado Giaquinto (Painting Gallery of Metropolitan City of Bari). SHORT HISTORY The Provincial Administration commissioned the design of its definitive headquarters in 1930. The palace, completed in 1936, is the result of the collaboration of the best Apulian architects of the time, coordinated by Luigi Baffa. Severely damaged during the Second World War, today the building houses the offices and the council chamber of the Provincial Administration, the Painting Gallery of Metropolitan City of Bari and the Archives of the city. ART AND ARCHITECTURE The building is characterized by eclecticism that recalls the neo-medieval civil architecture. The palace presents itself as an irregular quadrilateral, alternating Trani stone and red bricks. At the center of the rusticated base, there are five large round arches that give access to a portico in two-color marble. Beyond the upper floors, stands a clock tower, an allusion to the bell tower of the Cathedral of San Sabino, also visible from the Lungomare Nazario Sauro. The clock tower Read more [...]
Palazzo del Sedile
Palazzo del Sedile (Palace of the Seat), known also as the Palazzo dei Nobili, is a palace located in the historical center of Bari, in Piazza Mercantile. The palace, of which today only the facade remains, was once the Town Hall of the city. SHORT HISTORY The first documented information about a municipal office in Bari dates back to 1466, when the notary Giovanni de Lutiis mentioned a place in Piazza Mercantile, where the Municipality met to discuss the problems of the city. In 1601, a serious disaster occurred, originated from a small fire ignited in Piazza Mercantile, which spread very quickly to the buildings in the square and to the city’s arsenal, where gunpowder and weapons were kept. The explosion caused the death of over 60 people and ruined many buildings, including the municipal palace. In 1602, the palace was rebuilt by the Mayors Nicola Donato and Pietro Ponzo, as a plaque recalls, along with the arsenal and the city wall. In 1604, the Municipality built a small bell tower on top of the building and had a German-manufactured clock installed, which struck every quarter of an hour. The activity of the municipal seat ceased in the early Read more [...]