Monday, January 18, 2010

Cisternino di città

Cisternino di città, Livorno
One of the few buildings in “Via Grande” still standing in after the air raids of the last war was the “Cisternino di città” (city small cistern). Its wall facing “Piazza della Repubblica” is still scarred by the shrapnel, as you can see behind the statue of Giovanni Fattori.Cisternino di città, LivornoAn impressive picture of the destruction around the “Cisternino” and “Piazza della Repubblica”, taken in 1943 after one of the raids.
Cisternino di città, Livorno
The neoclassical building was completed in 1848 on a design by the architect Pasquale Poccianti within the project for the “Acquedotto Leopoldino” (Leopoldine Aqueduct), but it was never used as a cistern.
Cisternino di città, Livorno
After the war it was used for years as “Casa della Cultura” (Culture House) and is currently under renovation.

See also: Half-Dome Fad - Chili Pepper & Macchiaioli

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29 comments:

  1. Luis GomezJanuary 18, 2010 at 12:32 AM

    Great building and thank you for the history of it. Love the old B&W photo.

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  2. BlossomFlowerGirlJanuary 18, 2010 at 1:07 AM

    Great architecture. I love the fancy street light.
    Cheers.
    Melbourne Daily Photo

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  3. LowellJanuary 18, 2010 at 1:58 AM

    Fascinating building, fascinating story. Wars are so damn devastating - and for what?

    I think the world's people ought to pass a law that politicians could start a war only if they fought on the front lines as regular soldiers!

    Anyway, I'm glad this is still standing (I can see the shrapnel marks!) and that it's being renovated.

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  4. brattcatJanuary 18, 2010 at 2:08 AM

    That historic shot is shattering but also amazing.

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  5. Unseen RajasthanJanuary 18, 2010 at 6:13 AM

    Beautiful Architecture !!

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  6. DinaJanuary 18, 2010 at 7:05 AM

    That building has been through a lot.
    It pains me to see our cities' treasures made into rubble by war.
    You know, VP, my father was in the U.S. Army Air Corps, pilot of a B-24 Liberator flying out of Italy.
    Sigh ...

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  7. jooJanuary 18, 2010 at 9:44 AM

    Really handsome building - good it survived!
    Nice week to you:)

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  8. ThérèseJanuary 18, 2010 at 11:20 AM

    A very good idea to show now and then.

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  9. Eleonora BaldwinJanuary 18, 2010 at 11:52 AM

    Thank you for sharing the story behind this lovely building. I love the marks on the marble.

    Ciao
    Eleonora

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  10. Gena DJanuary 18, 2010 at 12:06 PM

    At least they' re keeping it intact ... I love a hppy ending when it comes to heritage!!!
    Gena @ Thinking Aloud
    a photoblog
    South Africa

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  11. GunnJanuary 18, 2010 at 1:53 PM

    Impressive building, sad and interesting to know the history (from 1943.)..... One more thing,- I think I have become so much more aware of street lamps.... including the one in your first photograph.

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  12. cieldequimperJanuary 18, 2010 at 7:18 PM

    Simple but effective architecture.

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  13. Clueless in BostonJanuary 18, 2010 at 8:00 PM

    I like the idea that they didn't repair the shrapnel marks in the building. It is a reminder of the war and hopefully serve as a deterrent.

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  14. Cezar and LéiaJanuary 18, 2010 at 9:00 PM

    It's impressive to see Giovanni looking so thoughtful and calm in the middle of the hot chaos!
    God bless you!
    Cezar

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  15. lodoliteJanuary 18, 2010 at 9:00 PM

    foto sempre interessanti e belle ma la foto con la statua è piuttosto eccezionale.
    ciao simona

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  16. amatamari©January 18, 2010 at 9:48 PM

    Impressive!
    Thanks for the interesting post: this is a monument for the memory!

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  17. stromsjoJanuary 18, 2010 at 10:40 PM

    Any idea what would be happening in such a Culture House if it had been open right now?

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  18. VPJanuary 18, 2010 at 11:01 PM

    @ Per - I don't know, the idea of a Culture House is so Seventies...

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  19. AnonymousJanuary 18, 2010 at 11:07 PM

    Actually, it's amazing how much did survive WWII.

    It's disheartening to think of what has been destroyed forever in wars.

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  20. IlseJanuary 19, 2010 at 12:53 AM

    Wonderful post. Really like the comparison with the older postcard.

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  21. Three Rivers, MichiganJanuary 19, 2010 at 4:16 AM

    What an interesting old building (even if it never was part of the water system) and thanks for the photo of the tragic aftermath of the war.


    Three Rivers Daily Photo

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  22. WolynskiJanuary 19, 2010 at 6:01 AM

    The statue survived? Does it have shrapnel?

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  23. AndreeaJanuary 19, 2010 at 1:02 PM

    Beautiful building and a very interesting story. The after the war photo is very heartbreaking. It's good to see images like this from time to time to remind us that we've come a long way and we should not return to that.

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  24. Babzy.BJanuary 19, 2010 at 2:07 PM

    Very interesting post !

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  25. HildaJanuary 19, 2010 at 3:29 PM

    I was about to say that that's the fanciest cistern I've ever seen, then I got to the part about it never having been used as one. Love the lamp post in front of it.

    About the old photo, that's pretty much what Manila looked like after the war too. My maternal grandfather was killed by shrapnel and the walls of the house (still in the family) bear their marks still, under the vines.

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  26. VPJanuary 19, 2010 at 5:51 PM

    @ Dina - Luckily my family didn't live in Livorno then, the center and the port were almost obliterated. There is a video on Youtube of an actual air raid on our city.

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  27. VPJanuary 19, 2010 at 5:54 PM

    @ Wolynski - The statue was lucky and is still there.
    @ Andreea - The photo is not after but during thewar. I'm not sure, but this was one of the first raids of a long series.

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  28. UnknownJanuary 21, 2010 at 8:11 PM

    Really impressive the photo taken in 1943! The building looks magnificent now and I like the first composition very much.

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  29. AnonymousJanuary 22, 2010 at 5:27 AM

    War is horrible human activity. My grandfather was a WWII veteran.

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