Once known as Casa Littoria, dedicated to city hero Antonio Locatelli and the highly symbolic headquarters of the local Fascist Party, the Palazzo della Libertà is located in the heart of Lower Town.
It serves as a scenic and monumental backdrop to the square of the same name, created during the redevelopment plan of the area where the old Ospedale S. Marco stood, demolished in the 1930s.
In 1936, in order to better redefine this empty space, a competition was announced: the judging committee - which included Marcello Piacentini, author of the magnificent Piacentiniano Center - decided to award first prize to the design by architect Alziro Bergonzo. The square was opened to citizens on October 28, 1939, the anniversary of the March on Rome, with the hope that Mussolini would officially inaugurate it the following year, which did not happen.
It became property of the State Property Office after the war, became the Casa della Libertà and was used as the headquarters of various bodies and associations, with considerable internal transformations.
Since 2017, the City of Bergamo has held permits for the use of space on the ground floor.
The architectural body is completely covered in white-pink marble from Zandobbio. The main facade, located on Piazza Libertà, consists of an imposing portico of twelve pillars of massive order; the dedication "To Antonio Locatelli, three times gold medalist, hero of the War and Revolution" stands out on the architrave.
The main entrance staircase is decorated with six bas-reliefs by Edoardo Villa, depicting various protagonists of Bergamo history. The staircase leads to the monumental atrium, originally illuminated by stained-glass windows and a skylight; on the wall separating it from the former Salone della vecchia guardia ("Hall of the Old Guard" now an auditorium), you can admire the Vita eroica di Antonio Locatelli ("Heroic Life of Antonio Locatelli"), created by Antonio Giuseppe Santagata in 1940. In addition to the hall, the ground floor originally housed the shrine, administrative and technical offices. The second floor housed the offices of the Federale and those of the Political Secretariat; the upper floors housed the offices of some party organizations.
Among the building's special features is the fact that Alziro Bergonzo designed not only the architectural part, but also the office furnishings, the intended use of which was already foreseen in the competition announcement.
Among the artists who worked on the decorative apparatus are the names of Leone Lodi (1900-1974), Nino Galizzi (1891-1975) and the aforementioned Edoardo Villa (1915-2011) for the sculptures, Contardo Barbieri (1900-1966), Arnaldo Carpanetti (1898-1969), Gianfilippo Usellini (1903-1971) and Domenico Rossi (1911-1955) for the paintings.
The building has a close spatial and decorative relationship with the square in front. Right in front, at the center of the geometric partition that ideally connects all the surrounding buildings, dominates the octagonal fountain by Claudio Nani, whose body dialogues with the shapes and colors of the building. Moreover, on the left side is Elia Ajolfi's big statue, I doni della terra (The Gifts of the earth)(1999).
The building is one of the most important twentieth-century works built in Bergamo.
Once known as Casa Littoria, dedicated to city hero Antonio Locatelli and the highly symbolic headquarters of the local Fascist Party, the Palazzo della Libertà is located in the heart of Lower Town.
It serves as a scenic and monumental backdrop to the square of the same name, created during the redevelopment plan of the area where the old Ospedale S. Marco stood, demolished in the 1930s.
In 1936, in order to better redefine this empty space, a competition was announced: the judging committee - which included Marcello Piacentini, author of the magnificent Piacentiniano Center - decided to award first prize to the design by architect Alziro Bergonzo. The square was opened to citizens on October 28, 1939, the anniversary of the March on Rome, with the hope that Mussolini would officially inaugurate it the following year, which did not happen.
It became property of the State Property Office after the war, became the Casa della Libertà and was used as the headquarters of various bodies and associations, with considerable internal transformations.
Since 2017, the City of Bergamo has held permits for the use of space on the ground floor.
The architectural body is completely covered in white-pink marble from Zandobbio. The main facade, located on Piazza Libertà, consists of an imposing portico of twelve pillars of massive order; the dedication "To Antonio Locatelli, three times gold medalist, hero of the War and Revolution" stands out on the architrave.
The main entrance staircase is decorated with six bas-reliefs by Edoardo Villa, depicting various protagonists of Bergamo history. The staircase leads to the monumental atrium, originally illuminated by stained-glass windows and a skylight; on the wall separating it from the former Salone della vecchia guardia ("Hall of the Old Guard" now an auditorium), you can admire the Vita eroica di Antonio Locatelli ("Heroic Life of Antonio Locatelli"), created by Antonio Giuseppe Santagata in 1940. In addition to the hall, the ground floor originally housed the shrine, administrative and technical offices. The second floor housed the offices of the Federale and those of the Political Secretariat; the upper floors housed the offices of some party organizations.
Among the building's special features is the fact that Alziro Bergonzo designed not only the architectural part, but also the office furnishings, the intended use of which was already foreseen in the competition announcement.
Among the artists who worked on the decorative apparatus are the names of Leone Lodi (1900-1974), Nino Galizzi (1891-1975) and the aforementioned Edoardo Villa (1915-2011) for the sculptures, Contardo Barbieri (1900-1966), Arnaldo Carpanetti (1898-1969), Gianfilippo Usellini (1903-1971) and Domenico Rossi (1911-1955) for the paintings.
The building has a close spatial and decorative relationship with the square in front. Right in front, at the center of the geometric partition that ideally connects all the surrounding buildings, dominates the octagonal fountain by Claudio Nani, whose body dialogues with the shapes and colors of the building. Moreover, on the left side is Elia Ajolfi's big statue, I doni della terra (The Gifts of the earth)(1999).
The building is one of the most important twentieth-century works built in Bergamo.
