CENTRO PIACENTINIANO, Introduction - Ai Voice

At the beginning of the 20th century, Bergamo was changing its appearance. The city, long concentrated in the Upper Town, was beginning to experience a phase of economic and social expansion that required new, more modern and functional spaces. It was in this context that the idea emerged to create a true urban center in the lower part of the city. For this ambitious project, one of the rising names in Italian architecture of the time was called upon: Marcello Piacentini.

The project took shape starting in 1907 and developed over more than twenty years. The area chosen corresponded to the site once occupied by the Fiera di Sant’Alessandro, a large market that, since the 17th century, had attracted merchants, craftsmen, and visitors from all over Lombardy. For over two centuries, the fair was the city’s main economic and social event, animating the district each year with stalls, performances, and commercial exchanges that turned Bergamo into a lively regional meeting point. The goal of the new project was to completely redesign this area, creating a modern center.

The new district developed around a main axis leading from Viale di Porta Nuova toward the hill of the Upper Town. Along this axis, still today, are the most representative areas of the Centro Piacentiniano: the Sentierone, with its arcades and historic cafés, Piazza Vittorio Veneto, dominated by the Torre dei Caduti, and Piazza Dante. Within this layout are buildings such as the Bank of Italy, the Post Office, the Credito Italiano headquarters, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Courthouse — all sharing a sober yet monumental style....