Palazzo Agostini

Palazzo Agostini, commonly known as Palazzo dell’Ussero or Palazzo Rosso (Red Palace), is one of the most beautiful palaces in Pisa, and one of the main examples of Gothic architecture in Tuscany.

The palace, belonging to the noble family Agostini Fantini Venerosi della Seta Gaetani Bocca Grassi, is home to the Caffè dell’Ussero starting with 1775, and houses the Cinema Lumière since 1899.

SHORT HISTORY

In the first half of the 14th century, the Astajo family built the palace by merging two older buildings. In 1447, the heirs of Jacopo and Filippo Astajo ceded the palace to Antonio Primi. Later, the palace passed to the Florentine family Visdomini who, on January 25, 1465, ceded it to the brothers Antonio and Pietro, Pisan goldsmiths.

In 1496, the palace was bought by Mariano and Pietro Agostini, belonging to a family of mercantile origin, specialized in the silk trade.

The palace was restored in 1895 on a project by the architect Angelo Giannini. On May 12, 1895, the roof was added by Luigi Corona, on a design by the architect Luigi Del Moro.

ARCHITECTURE

The facade, covered in terracotta tiles with a characteristic reddish color, from which the palace draws its nickname, hangs slightly to the right due to a progressive subsidence of the ground. The facade is punctuated vertically by five brick pillars, which extend from the street level to the roof, and are covered with panels decorated with heraldic crests and phytomorphic motifs.

On the ground floor, the facade is divided in four spaces with lowered arches, which originally housed shops, while the second and the third floor have as many mullioned windows with marble columns.

HOW TO GET THERE

Palazzo Agostini is located about 1.1 kilometers away from the Pisa Centrale railway station, or about 15 minutes on foot. The closest bus stop is Pacinotti 2, on the bus Lines 2, 4, 5, 13, 21, 22, LAM Verde and Navetta E, located about 20 meters away from the palace.