Palazzo Cassoli-Tirelli

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Palazzo Cassoli-Tirelli
Via Toschi
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Palazzo Cassoli – Tirelli is a building located at Via Toschi, 32, in the historic centre of Reggio Emilia, Italy. It was built in 1915 as the city residence for count Giuseppe Cassoli and his wife countess Barbara Tirelli. The project of the building was made by Luigi Caldini from Florence, in the new eclectic Neo-Gothic-style with turrets and merlionated rooflines. The family kept an important art collection in the building until they lived there. The country residence of the counts was the ‘Il Più Bello’ (the most beautiful) castle, located between the towns of Albinea and Puianello in the hills near Reggio.” (Palazzo Cassoli-Tirelli, Wikipedia)

Arte dei Mercanti del Panno

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Palazzo dell'Arte dei Mercanti del Panno
Via Toschi
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Begun at the end of the 15th century, the Palazzo dell’Arte dei Mercanti del Panno was completed in 1541 and housed the cloth merchants’ guild until the 18th century. The building, located in Via San Carlo on the corner of Via Filippo, is characterised by a noble and tall portico, now partly blind, with terracotta and sandstone columns. A capital with a goat’s head remains. The ‘purgo’ (hence the ancient name of Via del Purgo or Contrada delle Purghe) was connected to the noble building, that is, the place where the wool fabrics were freed from the grease used in their processing, and it overlooked the main branch of the Secchia canal, coming from Via del Guazzatoio, from which it drew the water needed for washing the wool and for motive power. The ‘purgo’ structure was later demolished: even the Secchia canal is no longer visible. The second floor of the Palazzo is due to the 19th-century restoration. Regarding the pictorial decoration of the building, it seems that it was designed in the sixteenth century by the famous painter from Novellara, Lelio Orsi, but it is doubtful whether it was built according to the preserved drawings.” (Palazzo dell'Arte dei Mercanti del Panno, Travel Italia)

Palazzo Fontanelli-Ceretti

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Palazzo Fontanelli-Ceretti
Via Dante Alighieri
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Of sober Renaissance design, from the first half of the 16th century, it preserves, with the original brick order, a small corner balcony and a very degraded sandstone flag-stand; it is located on the corner between Via Roma and Via Dante, on whose side stood out a Renaissance portal attributed to Bartolomeo Spani, now preserved in the Civic Museums. Opposite it is the church of Ss. Giacomo e Filippo, of Romanesque foundation and late Baroque reconstruction (Gianmaria Ferraroni, 1742) with an original bell tower.” (Palazzo Fontanelli-Ceretti, Touring Club Italiano)

Casa Signoretti

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Casa Signoretti
Via Roma
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Casa Signoretti is a historic aristocratic palace (palazzo) located in the heart of Reggio Emilia, Italy, at Via Emilio Casa Signoretti 4 (near Piazza Prampolini and the cathedral). Built in the late 18th century (around 1780–1790) in late-Baroque / early Neoclassical style. Commissioned by the noble Signoretti family, one of the oldest patrician families of Reggio Emilia. The façade is elegant but relatively sober; the real jewel is the interior, especially the grand staircase and the ballroom with magnificent frescoes and stucco work. The most famous artistic feature is the ballroom decorated around 1790–1800 by the Bolognese painter Gaetano Callani and his school, with neoclassical frescoes depicting mythological scenes and allegories.” (Casa Signoretti, Grok)

Marble lions

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Marble lions by Gaspare Bigi
Basilica of San Prospero
Piazza di San Prospero
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“On the dais in front of the church are placed six lions (1501), sculpted in rose-colored marble by Gaspare Bigi, and meant to be bases for columns of a portico that had been planned for the church front. In the past, some guides had attributed the lions to Romanesque period sculptors.” (San Prospero, Wikipedia)

Monumento ai caduti

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Monumento ai Caduti by Alberto Bazzoni, 1927
Piazza della Vittoria
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“In the historic center of Reggio Emilia, between Piazza della Vittoria and the Public Gardens, the monument was inaugurated on October 30, 1927, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the ‘March on Rome’. Commissioned in the 1920s by the city's political institutions, the monument features an architectural structure in granite, whose base measures sixteen meters, for a height of fifteen meters. It is decorated on both sides by two large bronze statues, depicting an infantryman and the winged Victory. The upper part is decorated with bas-reliefs, again in bronze, depicting the three Fates, a dying soldier supported by a female figure, a scene of work in the fields, figures of fighters. As was the case in many Italian cities in those 1920s, in a climate of growing nationalism, a monument was given the task of celebrating the values of the homeland, according to the fascist ideology of the time. The work was created by the Parma sculptor Alberto Bazzoni (1889-1973), winner of the competition that was organized specifically for this purpose.” (War Memorial, Reggio Emilia Welcome)

Dome of the Major Prophets

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Dome of the Major Prophets
Basilica della Ghiara
Corso Garibaldi
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“In the chapel near the door on the right (Pagani chapel) are the Prophets Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah in the pendentives, the eight Virtues in the larger compartments, the eight Angels in the smaller ones in the act of paying homage to the Divinity depicted in the centre, are by Camillo Gavasetti who created them in 1630. The altar decorated with marble and bronze and enriched with the statues of Religion and Prudence is the work of Nicola Sampolo; the painting of the Virgin in the act of asking for the Child Jesus from Saint Francis is by Alessandro Tiarini (1629).” (Temple of the Blessed Virgin of Ghiara, Wikiwand)

Giano

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Giano (Janus) by Prospero Sogari, 1576
Palazzo Becchi-Magnani
Corso Garibaldi
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“The Palazzo Magnani, also known as the Palazzo Becchi-Magnani, is a Neoclassical-style palace located on Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi 29 in the historic center of the town of Reggio Emilia in Italy. The original palace was commissioned in the late 16th century by Count Becchi. The location on the then via della Ghiara, now Corso Garibaldi, became a fashionable location for houses of the wealthy in town. The palace is notable for a fine decorated frieze below the roofline and a marble telamon-like figure at the corner of the building, depicting the god Janus, sculpted in 1576 by Prospero Sogari. By the early nineteenth century, ownership of the palace passed to the aristocratic Chioffi family, who refurbished the facade to its present Neoclassical style. In 1917, after various changes in ownership, the house passed to the Magnani family. Luigi Magnani endowed the Magnani-Rocca Foundation to display his art collections at his villa at Mamiano di Traversetolo. This palace, restored by Ivan Sacchetti, was purchased in 1984 by the town from the estate of Luigi Magnani, and is now used for special exhibits.” (Palazzo Becchi-Magnani, Wikipedia)

Locus Gromae

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Gromae Locus
Via Emilia San Pietro
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Locus Gromae is the point of intersection of the generating axes of the Roman city: the decumanus and the cardo. In the case of Reggio Emilia, the decumanus is represented by the Via Emilia, while the cardo is the axis followed by today's Via Roma. The historian Titus Livius reports that the consul Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in 187 BC, after having defeated the Ligurian tribes settled on the Apennines, provided for the construction of a road connecting the cities of Arimium and Placentia, which took the name of Aemilia from him. Although the sources do not explicitly mention it, undoubtedly the same person is responsible for the construction of the inhabited nucleus of Reggio that maintained its memory in the same topographical denomination. It can therefore be said that Reggio Emilia was truly born with the Via Emilia. The great consular road, in fact, was also the decumanus maximus of Roman Reggio, while the cardo was today's Via Roma. Even today at the intersection of these two roads (in the heart of Reggio) a plaque is visible that recalls ‘the groma’: an ancient Roman measuring instrument that indicated the point of intersection between the two great roads and marked the place from which to begin founding a city.” (Via Emilia, giraReggio)

Terme del Colesterolo

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Terme del Colesterolo (Cholesterol Spa)
Via della Torre
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Very characteristic place that makes the ‘porc’ its patriot. Everything with a dirty theme, from the entrance to the bathrooms. And that's fine. Excellent food, obviously pig themed, and staff who know how to run the business well!” (Terme del Colesterolo, Gastroranking)

Matteo Maria Boiardo

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Matteo Maria Boiardo by Riccardo Secchi, 1916
Parco del Popolo
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Matteo Maria Boiardo (1440 – 19/20 December 1494) was an Italian Renaissance poet, best known for his epic poem ‘Orlando innamorato’. Boiardo was born in 1440, at or near, Scandiano (today's province of Reggio Emilia); the son of Giovanni di Feltrino and Lucia Strozzi. His mother Lucia was the sister of the humanist poet Tito Vespasiano Strozzi, his father Giovanni the son of Feltrino Boiardo, whom Niccolò III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara, had made Count of Scandiano, with seignorial power over Arceto, Casalgrande, Gesso, and Torricella. Boiardo was an ideal example of a gifted and accomplished courtier, possessing both a gallant heart and deep humanistic learning.” (Matteo Maria Boiardo, Wikipedia)

Ludovico Ariosto

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Ludovico Ariosto by Riccardo Secchi, 1916
Parco del Popolo
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Ludovico Ariosto (8 September 1474 – 6 July 1533) was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso (1516). The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions into many sideplots. The poem is transformed into a satire of the chivalric tradition. Ariosto composed the poem in the ottava rima rhyme scheme and introduced narrative commentary throughout the work. Ariosto also coined the term ‘humanism’ (in Italian, umanesimo) for choosing to focus upon the strengths and potential of humanity, rather than only upon its role as subordinate to God. This led to Renaissance humanism.” (Ludovico Ariosto, Wikipedia)

Antonio da Correggio

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Antonio da Correggio by Guido Vinchesi, 1934
Parco del Popolo
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sensuous works of the sixteenth century. In his use of dynamic composition, illusionistic perspective and dramatic foreshortening, Correggio prefigured the Baroque art of the seventeenth century and the Rococo art of the eighteenth century. He is considered a master of chiaroscuro.” (Antonio da Correggio, Wikipedia)

Antonio Fontanesi

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Bust of Antonio Fontanesi by Renato Marino Mazzacurati, 1939
Parco del Popolo
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Antonio Fontanesi (23 February 1818 – 17 April 1882) was an Italian painter who lived in Meiji period Japan between 1876 and 1878. He introduced European oil painting techniques to Japan, and exerted a significant role in the development of modern Japanese yōga (Western style) painting. He is known for his works in the romantic style of the French Barbizon school.” (Antonio Fontanesi, Wikipedia)

Maria Melato

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Bust of Maria Melato by Michele Vedani, 1954
Parco del Popolo
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Maria Melato (16 October 1885 – 24 August 1950) was an Italian actress of the stage, screen, and radio. Maria Melato was born in Reggio Emilia on 16 October 1885, the daughter of Silvio Melato and Elisa Friggieri. Her father was a fencing master and cavalry officer. Her mother traveled with Melato during her theatrical career.” (Maria Melato, Wikipedia)

Abate Ferrari Bonini

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Fountain of the abbot Ferrari Bonini, 1885
Parco del Popolo
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“The fountain dedicated to abbot Ferrari Bonini was inaugurated on 22 November 1885, coinciding with the conclusion of the construction works on the city aqueduct. Both the fountain and the aqueduct were commissioned by Ulderico Levi, an illustrious Reggio Emilia politician who was the protagonist of numerous initiatives in favor of his city in the second half of the 19th century. The sculptural parts of the fountain are the work of the Reggio Emilia sculptor Ilario Bedotti and his student Guglielmo Fornaciari; the project instead belongs to the engineer Domenico Lanza. The work consists of a circular basin with a diameter of 10 meters, with a central rocky island from which a pedestal takes shape with vegetal motifs in relief, including algae and marsh reeds. The pedestal supports a second basin of smaller diameter, in the shape of a shell surmounted, in the terminal part of the structure, by a sculpture of Triton, a deity of ancient Greek mythology, son of Poseidon, god of the sea. Around the pedestal there are three putti, the work of Ilario Bedotti, interspersed with as many stone medallions. The cherubs originally bore the symbols of Fame, History and Recognition.” (Fountain of the abbot Ferrari Bonini, Reggio Emilia Welcome)

Sant'Agostino

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Church of Sant'Agostino
Piazzetta Pignedoli
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“The church of Sant'Agostino is a Catholic place of worship located in Piazzetta Pignedoli, in the historic center of Reggio Emilia. The church is the seat of the parish of San Lorenzo in Sant'Agostino of the Urban vicariate of the diocese of Reggio Emilia-Guastalla. On the site occupied by the current building stood the church of Sant'Apollinare, already mentioned in a document from 1183 and destroyed in 1249, during the conflict between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. It took on its current title in 1268 when it was rebuilt, together with the convent, by the Augustinian Hermit friars. It was rebuilt in 1452 after the fire of 1423, when the current Romanesque apse and the tower were also built, the latter designed by Antonio Casotti and financed by the Municipality and Abbot Zoboli. The façade, in Baroque style, entirely in terracotta, dates back to 1746 and was designed by the architect Alfonso Torreggiani and has two niches with the statues of San Guglielmo and San Nicola da Tolentino inside.” (Sant'Agostino, Wikipedia)

Crostolo

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Allegoric statue of Crostolo
Piazza Prampolini
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“Together with the statues of the Secchia and Panaro rivers it was part of the ornamental complex of the Villa park. Some authors attribute it to Giovan Battista Bolognini. In 1285 the clergy of the Cathedral had a well dug at their own expense, for public benefit, in the old palace of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia. This well, closer to the Baptistery than the current fountain, consisted of a marble balcony surmounted by an iron arch from which hung two buckets which alternately served to draw water. In 1770, as the structure was damaged and the waters were unhealthy, it was decided to build a new, more central well, the one where the statue of Crostolo now stands. The Revolution that led to the proclamation of the Cispadana Republic broke out in August 1796, so that pedestal served as basis for the ‘Tree of Liberty’. At the end of 1700 the sacking of the Ducal Palace of Rivalta was taking place. In the park of that palace were some imposing statues representing the three main rivers of the Duchy: Panaro, Secchia and Crostolo. The Municipality of Reggio Emilia obtained the ownership of the statues. Two were moved and are still on the parapet of the San Pellegrino Bridge; the third (Crostolo) was moved into the town, as the seat on the well of the main square was vacant, April 14, 1802.” (Crostolo, Reggio Emilia Welcome)

Galleria Centrale

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Galleria Centrale “Eat & Meet”
Via Emilia San Pietro
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“The Galleria Centrale (Central Gallery) of Reggio Emilia was built in 1927 based on a project by the architect Prospero Sorgato. The original layout is structured on a central nave and two lateral ones. The building was conceived as a food market with a popular character, but a few years after its inauguration it was converted into a shopping mall. The architectural language expresses the transition period between Neoclassical and Art Nouveau. If the external facade shows the grandeur of the neoclassical, the atmosphere changes progressively when entering the building, showing the influence of other styles such as Liberty and Eclecticism.” (A Century of History, Eat & Meet)

San Pietro

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Church of San Pietro
Via Emilia
Reggio Emilia, May 2024

“San Pietro (Saint Peter) is a Baroque style, Roman Catholic church located on Via Campo Samarotto #1, with a facade along Via Emilia San Pietro, in the southwestern sector of central Reggio Emilia, Italy. A document from 1140 acknowledges a church-monastery dedicated to Saints Pietro and Prospero existing outside the city walls (extra muros), on the road to Modena. However, the fighting in the region had displaced the Benedictines from that monastery, and for their protection, in 1513 the bishop Albericone, under Pope Leo X, consecrated a new church and convent at this site. The present church was built in the 17th century under designs of various architects initially led by Giulio della Torre from Bologna, while the cupola (1625-1629) was designed by Paolo Messori from Reggio. The church layout follows the rules given by the Council of Trent and is a remarkable example of an architecture still true to its original design. Only the façade was built in the 18th century. The interior has paintings by Alessandro Tiarini, Paolo Emilio Besenzi, Pietro Desani and Malossi.” (San Pietro, Wikipedia)