Saturday, May 9, 2009

The importance of symbols



Piazza Oberdan, the square in which the museum of the Risorgimento is situated, underwent a vast architectural transformation in the early twentieth century.
Until 1927 there was a huge Austrian military barracks in the area. The building was a symbol of the Austrian presence in the city, which came to an end in 1918 with the end of the First World War.

In December 1882, Guglielmo Oberdan was imprisoned and hanged in these barracks; the young Triestine had taken part in a failed attempt on Emperor Franz Joseph's life.


Between 1931 and 1935, the whole area of the square was renovated and symbols were turned completely upside down: where the Austrian military barracks had once been, a sacrarium dedicated to G.Oberdan was built, together with a museum designed by Umberto Nordio to display the evidence of the city's participation in the battle to unify Italy.

The building has a square tower soaring up higher than the other buildings around it where the Italian flag is always flying at full mast.

Today it is impossible to photograph the building face on, as a newer building blocks its view almost completely. And so here you have a slice of the museum as it is today and a photo taken in April 29 1934, during the opening ceremony.



2 comments:

Unknown said...

It seems like a fabolous building. And it is a nice shot of it considering the lack of space. A very interesting post.

amatamari© said...

Molto interessante.
Grazie anche per la veduta storica.