Villa Damioli: Centro Culturale

Located inbetween Brescia and Bergamo, the settlement of Palazzolo originated around the banks of River Oglio which has been a crucial element of the area. Since it’s Origins Palazzolo has been divided in neighbourhoods called Quadra, Mura, Piazza, Riva and Calci. The town evolved under various settlements from being a defence line to an industrial town filled across with textile industries.

The Cicogna-Rampana Foundation is an institution, established in 1989, which deals with the collection and study of local historical memories and various forms of art, with particular reference to young people and their creativity.

In 1921 Annunciata Cicogna died, leaving all her possessions to her husband, who in his will of 1930 destined the villa as the seat of a foundation for cultural purposes. The establishment of a charitable foundation with the aim of collecting and preserving in his own home everything that recalled the history of Palazzolo in

and

The requirement of lift and stairs for the villa to improve the vertical connection posed an unique design challenge. In order to ensure a sensitive and contextual intervention, the urban fabric of palazzolo was studied to extract design ques.

One of the key aspects of architecture that stand out are the towers present in the town. Each tower has a unique history and a time stamp that resembles the yesteryear images of the city of Bologna. The images on the right show the location and the design typology of the towers scattered around the town.

The lift which operated till the frst foor was then extneded till the roof of the villa to induce an illusion of a 6th tower. One that serves an aesthetic purpose to stand amongst the historic towers of the town of palazzolo.

The materials used to fnish the volume were limestone slabs/tiles, to complement the weatherd exterior of the villa.