Description
Arches, mullioned windows, stone and brick: at first glance the Palazzo delle Poste (Post Office) of Pisa looks like a medieval palace. In fact it was inaugurated on October 28, 1929, on the south side of the great Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, between the old town and the new neighborhoods. Its "Pisan style" was entirely calculated.
In 1924 the municipality announced the competition, and the engineers Federigo Severini and Giulio Buoncristiani won. The press of the time praised it for exactly that: the design had kept in mind some of the finest examples of Pisan architecture. The result is a free mixture of Neo-Romanesque and Neo-Gothic.
The facade opens in a semicircle onto the square, which is round. On the ground floor runs a long portico of round arches on octagonal stone pillars and, above, brick walls marked by pilasters, with a mullioned window on each floor and pointed arches on the two corner blocks.
In the center the stone rises without a break up to the roof. On the main floor there is a balcony with a balustrade, onto which opens a French window with three lights. Higher up, three marble bas-reliefs and others in stone frame the triple-light windows.
At the back the building changes face: it alternates false stone and brick with simply plastered blocks, with mullioned and single windows. The low wall with the wrought-iron railing stitches it all together toward the street.
Inside, an atrium leads to the large counter hall, covered by a vast skylight. On either side are two small trapezoidal courtyards and the stairs, including the main staircase. On the upper floors are the offices, the archives, the canteen and the staff recreation club.
With the building, the square changed its look too. Out went the palms and plane trees, replaced by maritime pines; out went the big basin with the fountain and the drink and fruit kiosks, judged unsuited to the new urban reality. In 1929 a Palazzo del Littorio was planned next door, later replaced by the provincial administration building.
The latter looks very much like the Post Office, like a brother: it was also designed by Severini. The two buildings form an exedra-shaped backdrop to the square and close the two axes of Corso Italia and Via D'Azeglio, facing the broad straight avenue of Viale Gramsci.
In 1924 the municipality announced the competition, and the engineers Federigo Severini and Giulio Buoncristiani won. The press of the time praised it for exactly that: the design had kept in mind some of the finest examples of Pisan architecture. The result is a free mixture of Neo-Romanesque and Neo-Gothic.
The facade opens in a semicircle onto the square, which is round. On the ground floor runs a long portico of round arches on octagonal stone pillars and, above, brick walls marked by pilasters, with a mullioned window on each floor and pointed arches on the two corner blocks.
In the center the stone rises without a break up to the roof. On the main floor there is a balcony with a balustrade, onto which opens a French window with three lights. Higher up, three marble bas-reliefs and others in stone frame the triple-light windows.
At the back the building changes face: it alternates false stone and brick with simply plastered blocks, with mullioned and single windows. The low wall with the wrought-iron railing stitches it all together toward the street.
Inside, an atrium leads to the large counter hall, covered by a vast skylight. On either side are two small trapezoidal courtyards and the stairs, including the main staircase. On the upper floors are the offices, the archives, the canteen and the staff recreation club.
With the building, the square changed its look too. Out went the palms and plane trees, replaced by maritime pines; out went the big basin with the fountain and the drink and fruit kiosks, judged unsuited to the new urban reality. In 1929 a Palazzo del Littorio was planned next door, later replaced by the provincial administration building.
The latter looks very much like the Post Office, like a brother: it was also designed by Severini. The two buildings form an exedra-shaped backdrop to the square and close the two axes of Corso Italia and Via D'Azeglio, facing the broad straight avenue of Viale Gramsci.