Wednesday, December 23, 2009

BNL

The building of the “Banca Nazionale del Lavoro” (National Bank of Work) in “Via Cairoli” has a nice set of bas-reliefs: three panels on each side of the main entrance.Each panel shows, in a symbolic manner, a different sector of the economy: commercial fishing, maritime trade, agriculture, movie making, constructions and mechanical industry.Financing films (more than 5000 in about seventy years) from production to distribution has been a traditional business for this bank, since the last years of the fascist period, when the import of American movies was forbidden.The BNL is now owned by French banking group BNP Paribas.

at

21 comments:

  1. tapirgalDecember 23, 2009 at 1:28 AM

    It looks better than most bank entrances. Of course I found the fish and the crocodile :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AndreeaDecember 23, 2009 at 2:34 AM

    Lovely set of bas-reliefs. I'm with tapirgal, definitely more interesting than most bank entrances.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Luis GomezDecember 23, 2009 at 5:18 AM

    These carvings are beautiful!Great shots by the way. I like the whole lay out of them.

    ReplyDelete
  4. jooDecember 23, 2009 at 9:21 AM

    Terrific! My favourite is panel with fish - rally cool. I wonder when was this building built - looks like 20s?

    ReplyDelete
  5. JillyDecember 23, 2009 at 10:06 AM

    Fabulous carving and such a fascinating history.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousDecember 23, 2009 at 10:38 AM

    Merry Christmas from Bulgaria!

    ReplyDelete
  7. GunnDecember 23, 2009 at 10:52 AM

    GOD JUL/ Merry Christmas to you and yours.
    Thanks for sooooo many nice photos and interesting information about your beautiful city!
    Best wishes from Gunn

    ReplyDelete
  8. B SQUAREDDecember 23, 2009 at 1:32 PM

    A great entrance, so well thought-out.

    ReplyDelete
  9. RichardDecember 23, 2009 at 2:59 PM

    Buon Natale e felice anno nuovo! :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Leif HagenDecember 23, 2009 at 3:30 PM

    What a handsome, nicely ornamented bank! Do they give out "free samples" inside?
    Merry Christmas to you and yours!

    ReplyDelete
  11. HildaDecember 23, 2009 at 4:45 PM

    Beautiful reliefs! And perfect for a 'bank of work.' I'm glad the new owners kept the beautiful artwork.

    ReplyDelete
  12. amatamari©December 23, 2009 at 7:45 PM

    Wow what an entrance gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Cezar and LéiaDecember 23, 2009 at 8:03 PM

    I totally agree with Hilda, these details reliefs are outstanding!
    Léia

    ReplyDelete
  14. cieldequimperDecember 23, 2009 at 8:21 PM

    Very appropriate for bankers who are supposed to help businesses along. Funny how movie and industry are added to the traditional labours...
    Is this 1920s-1930s?
    Btw, the last one is a Wednesday Doorway!

    ReplyDelete
  15. UnknownDecember 23, 2009 at 9:12 PM

    Very nice doorway!
    Opposit to your fascist period, Portugal imported movies during Salazar dictatorship but lots of scenes were simply not shown, so all movies were shorter... I remember they have cut half an hour (yes, 30 minutes!) on Fellini's 'Roma'...

    ReplyDelete
  16. Mary Stebbins TaittDecember 23, 2009 at 10:45 PM

    Oh, I love these, they are VERY PRETTY!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. IlseDecember 23, 2009 at 10:47 PM

    Very interesting reliefa. Wish our banks placed art on the facade.

    ReplyDelete
  18. stromsjoDecember 23, 2009 at 11:42 PM

    I like the fire in the industrial panel.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Three Rivers, MichiganDecember 24, 2009 at 1:33 AM

    Those are beautiful - great graphics! When were they done?

    ReplyDelete
  20. AnonymousDecember 24, 2009 at 7:45 PM

    The bas relief has lovely details that make them fun to study.

    I didn't know American films were banned during the Fascist period...but of course it totally makes sense.

    ReplyDelete
  21. AnonymousDecember 25, 2009 at 8:27 PM

    These are very cute. I would decorate a kid's room with those - everything is so happy on these.

    ReplyDelete