Casinetto Petitot

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Casinetto Petitot by Ennemond Alexandre Petitot, 1766
Piazzale Risorgimento
Parma, May 2024

“The Casinetto Petitot, known simply as Petitot, is a small building with neoclassical shapes, located in the center of Piazzale Risorgimento in Parma. It is considered one of the first Italian coffees. In 1759 the ducal prime minister Guillaume du Tillot commissioned the court architect Ennemond Alexandre Petitot with the design of a large tree-lined avenue south of the city centre, with the aim of creating an elegant boulevard intended for public walking, modeled on the great European capitals. At the eastern end, on a corner of the then existing walls, the Stradone should have ended with a refined café, scenically placed in a raised position with respect to the avenue. The small building was supposed to be a meeting place not only for the nobles and upper middle classes, but also for the intellectuals of the time, precisely at the moment in which the first Enlightenment ideals began to spread in Europe. Furthermore, thanks to its elevated position, it had to act as a lookout, since from the terrace at the top you could enjoy the panorama of both the city and the surrounding countryside. Its construction, entirely financed by Duke Philip of Bourbon, began on 22 October 1762 when the tracing of the large avenue had already begun, which was inaugurated together with the little house in the presence of the Duke on 24 June 1766, during the night of Saint John. Currently the casino stands in the center of the busy Piazzale Risorgimento and, although it has no longer been used as a café for decades, it is still home to various clubs; in 2019 it was entrusted to the Mind for Music association.” (Casinetto Petitot, Wikipedia)