Via Matteotti 15, Colle di Val d’Elsa (SI)
“Il Palazzone”:
Il Palazzone was designed by the Bolognese engineer, architect, and urban planner Filippo Buriani (1847-1898) in 1886 and completed about three years later.
The building, situated on a hill ridge, has a massive, asymmetrical structure with three protruding sections: one at the center front and two narrower ones at the back. The elevations vary in height: the front has ten windows over two floors, the sides have three floors, and the rear has four floors.
The entire building features smooth ashlar facades, with round-arched portals and windows framed by fan-shaped voussoirs. Horizontal cornices run along the impost levels of the arches, dividing the facade.
In 1894, Antonio Salvetti created two reliefs for the facade, depicting the coat of arms of Colle di Val d’Elsa and an allegory of Intelligence portrayed by a classically dressed young woman reading a book.
Notable are the plaster casts decorating the walls of the Aula Magna, depicting the Battle of Tagliamento (1917), derived from sculptures by Vico Consorti (1902-1979) that adorn the Ponte Duca d’Aosta in Rome.
