A long tank of white marble divided into different parts, covered by an elegant roof made of cast iron and metal slabs.
Built in 1881, the Washhouse (“Lavatoio” in Italian) via San Lupo, in the Upper Town, represents a beautiful model from the design point of view.
It’s provided with a water adduction system, an overflow drain system, a process of dirty water discharge after washing and a gutter of the water sprays produced during the washing: this makes it extremely effective and functional.
On the other side, the hygienic conditions of Bergamo during that time were really poor: in 1884 a cholera epidemic had pummelled the city and physicians blamed the water’s terrible quality of Città Alta, enhancing the spreading of typhus fever, a highly contagious and frequently deadly disease that recurred every summer.
To combat this problem, Bergamo Administration decided to build several public washhouses: besides the one in via Lupo, there was one in via Boccola and another in Borgo Canale.
The via Lupo Washhouse worked till the 50s and it’s currently preserved with the maximum care, as a precious memory of the past.
A long tank of white marble divided into different parts, covered by an elegant roof made of cast iron and metal slabs.
Built in 1881, the Washhouse (“Lavatoio” in Italian) via San Lupo, in the Upper Town, represents a beautiful model from the design point of view.
It’s provided with a water adduction system, an overflow drain system, a process of dirty water discharge after washing and a gutter of the water sprays produced during the washing: this makes it extremely effective and functional.
On the other side, the hygienic conditions of Bergamo during that time were really poor: in 1884 a cholera epidemic had pummelled the city and physicians blamed the water’s terrible quality of Città Alta, enhancing the spreading of typhus fever, a highly contagious and frequently deadly disease that recurred every summer.
To combat this problem, Bergamo Administration decided to build several public washhouses: besides the one in via Lupo, there was one in via Boccola and another in Borgo Canale.
The via Lupo Washhouse worked till the 50s and it’s currently preserved with the maximum care, as a precious memory of the past.
