Vivante Palace
The Palace was once a symbol of the high bourgeoisie of Trieste, and since 1947 is the headquarters of the "Opera Figli del Popolo", an association founded by a priest,Edoardo Marzari, for improving youth education programs.
It was built between 1842 and 1844, based on Domenico Corti's project, which included the names of the wealthy owners (Antonio Corti, Domenico Garofalo, Marco Salem, Fortunato Vivante).
Vivante decided to change part of it to make it more adequate to his position (Director of the Union Bank, Counselor of the "Lloyd Austriaco" and the "Assicurazioni Generali"). For this purpose, he hired the architect Rudolf Dick from Vienna (project manager of the Egyptian Museum of Cairo) for the designing, and the architect Arturo Ziffer, from Trieste, for the execution.
The project was developed between 1906 and 1908, and included notable changes in the structure of the building confer it the neoclassical style that can still be seen today in the façade.
The scenic design on the stairs is remarkable. According to Franco Firmiani's words:
"The palace is a tribute to the Baroque, with classic lines and a clear reference to Michelangelo's architecture, present in the arcs and stairs that connect to the atrium".
The internal paintings have been attributed, -thanks to a recent research carried out by D. Serenella Ferrari-, to Alois Hans Schram, author of the tryptic of the Salzburg Palace of Justice and the Atrium's decoration of the Parliament of Vienna, among others.
The polychromic ornamental stones used in the different rooms are also remarkable, especially those used on the stairs and chimneys, including the reddish purple at the atrium, the veined white in the Pink room, the bright black at the Yellow room and the green onyx at the Oval room.
But the great fortune of Vivante didn't last: he was forced to flee to Vienna when the I World War began.
In 1918, the Palace was occupied by S.A.R Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta, Commander of the III army, who stayed for 18 months. Recently found documents indicate that Duca hosted Gabriele D'Annunzio in 1919 on his way to Rijeka.
In 1922 Fortunato Vivante lost his wife (sheltered at a mental hospital in Padova), and he died in 1926.
His relatives (a brother and four nephews), where exiled due to their Hebraic origins after the Racial Laws of 1938. Two of them died in Auschwitz concentration camp.
From 1940 to 1946 the Palace was the headquarters of the Comando Federale Gioventù del Littorio, the "Gestapo", the "Guardia del Popolo" (in 1945, after being injured by an aerial bombing), the "Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale" (in June 1945), ACLI and Democrazia Cristiana (in 1946).
In 1954, after the Anglo-American occupation, the Palace (already property of the "Opera Figli del Popolo") hosted the first Mayor's Office of Trieste, ing. Gianni Bartoli.
This splendid architectonic jewel full of important memories was given back to the city in 2010, when the Palace was fully restored thanks to the financial support of the region and the CRT foundation.