PALAZZO DEL MINISTERO
DELL'INDUSTRIA, COMMERCIO E ARTIGIANATO
1928/32 Marcello Piacentini (1881/1960) and Giuseppe Vaccaro (1896/1970) on land originally
occupied by orchards and convent of the Capuchin friars of S. Mary
of the Immaculate Conception
Formerly
known as PALAZZO DELLE CORPORAZIONI
FASCISTE (Palace of the Fascist Guilds) now MINISTERO DELLO SVILUPPO
ECONOMICO (Palace of the Ministry of Economic Development)
“The Palace
of Guilds would distance itself from the image of a sort of 'palace of
bureaucracy' and would want instead to be seen as a vindication of the modern
and efficient over the obsolete and cumbersome. It was constantly proved by the
choice of materials and of the most innovative equipment in the offices: the
linoleum floors, elevators protected by shatterproof glass instead of grates,
the pneumatic post, the blinds instead of the shutters, heating with oil
instead of coal are all aspects of functionalism constantly sought by the
architects. With regard to the outside, instead, the accentuated verticalism
shown at the entrance, the presence of the two corner turrets, the use of the
coating in travertine slabs and in stone from Montecompatri refer rather to the
image of a medieval fortress, as well as medieval was the implicit reference in
the concept of the guilds” (Official Website of the Ministry of Economic
Development - www.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it)
Bronze
portal with eight bronze panels of Giovanni Prini
(1877/1958)
Frieze of
red marble by Antonio Maraini (1886/1963) for
the balcony above the entrance
Large glass
in the atrium “Charter of Labor” 1931/32 by Mario
Sironi (1885/1961)
“A dramatic
and amazing artifact (...): the grim tale of the window, which denies the light
and the quality of the glass rather than enhance its possibilities, is
'monument', and it is the true epic note inside the building. The glass also
proposes, in the two side panels, a very personal variation of the guilds:
renouncing to any didactic statement, as more general symbols of man, the usual
figures of Agriculture, Trade and Industry are accompanied by Construction,
Sculpture and Art” (Official Website of the Ministry of Economic Development -
www.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it)
Seven large
tapestries in the Hall of Honor “Guilds” by the brothers Pio Eroli (1903/80) and Silvio
Eroli (1904) from cartoons by Ferruccio Ferrazzi
(1891/1978)
Painting “Venetian
Summary” by Fortunato Depero (1892/1960)
Painting “Madonna
of the Air” by Enrico Prampolini (1894/1956)
“A rare
example of religious subjects applied to the cosmic and spatial aero-painting
by Prampolini. The concept of metamorphosis, the becoming substance, the
creating of sidereal shapes-forces - which underpins the research of the artist
in those years - create a successful and unpublished partnership with the theme
of the Virgin and of her motherhood” (Official Website of the Ministry of
Economic Development - www.sviluppoeconomico.gov.it)
In this
building there are many works of art and craft by great Italian artists
including:
Romano
Romanelli (1882/1968), Gio Ponti (1891/1979), Francesco
Messina (1900/95), Francesco Trombadori (1886/1961),
Roberto Melli (1885/1958), Luciano Minguzzi (1911/2004),
Fausto Pirandello (1899/1975) and others
