Restoration of Asilo Menghini to House Art Exhibitions and Mediatheque
The renovation work on the former Asilo Menghini has begun. The building, which faces via Cesare Battisti and has housed Castiglione’s children every day for years, is now undergoing restoration. The project, planned by the municipal administration, will cost 1 billion 200 million lire and will be financed through the issuance of bond certificates, known as Boc.
The department of public works, led by Innocente Sereni, has decided to carry out a straightforward renovation of the building, limiting interventions to the minimum necessary, both out of respect for its historic characteristics and to contain costs. The only significant change will involve installing an elevator between the different floors of the building, in addition to refurbishing the electrical, sewage, hydraulic, and fire prevention systems.
Planned works and interventions
The interior and exterior painting will replicate the original colors. Besides demolishing some partition walls and making other improvements in the halls of the former nursery, external work will include the creation of disabled access from the rear, while the garden and fence arrangements will be addressed at a later stage.
The decision to undertake work on the building, beyond its historical and sentimental significance due to its decades-long use as a nursery, also stems from its architectural and artistic value: it was built at the beginning of the 20th century and remains an example of Liberty style architecture, a style also reflected in its window frames, external cornices, and entry door.
Use and redevelopment of the property
Once it is operational, the building will host art exhibitions, freeing the ground floor of Palazzo Pastore from this function. This will allow the via Ascoli structure, which houses the library, to have the necessary space for the new mediatheque planned by the council.
A first phase is already included in the upcoming budget, but as Bertoli has repeatedly explained, additional resources will be allocated to expand multimedia services in the rooms currently used for exhibitions.
