Thursday, September 29, 2016

PALACE OF THE MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY, TRADE AND HANDICRAFT

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

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