Palazzo Modello is a historic building located in piazza Unità d'Italia in Trieste, built between 1871 and 1872 during an important phase of urban redevelopment that transformed the square into its current configuration.
Previous Religious Buildings
The building stands on the area once occupied by two religious buildings:
- A late-medieval chapel dedicated to San Pietro, which had given the original name to the square (piazza San Pietro)
- A seventeenth-century church dedicated to San Rocco
Both were demolished in 1870 to allow the new municipal urban planning.
Design and Architect
The Municipality of Trieste entrusted the architect Giuseppe Bruni with the design of the palace, with the objective of creating an architectural model from which the other buildings to be built around the square would draw inspiration. In particular, the eclectic style of the facades of Palazzo Modello was reproduced in the nearby Hotel Garni (later Grand Hotel Duchi d’Aosta) and in the Palazzo del Municipio designed by the same Bruni between 1873 and 1875.
Significance During the Habsburg Period
During the Habsburg period, this intervention represented a sign of the desire for modernization and consolidation of the urban prestige of Trieste, then an important port of the Impero Austro-Ungarico.
The Hotel Delorme and Subsequent Uses
From a social and cultural point of view, between 1872 and 1912 Palazzo Modello housed the Hotel Delorme, managed by the French Antonio Delorme, chef of Baron Pasquale Revoltella. The hotel was an elegant reference point for travelers with:
- Rooms and apartments for families
- Catering
- Sanitary facilities on every floor
- Overlooking the square and the sea
It closed in 1912 and, after various uses, since 2008 it has been the headquarters of the company Acegas-Aps, which manages water, gas and electricity services.
Artistic Curiosity: The Telamons
An element of particular artistic curiosity are the sculptural telamons placed on the top floor: these human figures, sculpted in scaramantic poses with hands on the genitals, constitute a unique example of plastic decoration laden with traditional symbolism.
Historical Evolution
The history of the palace thus spans the transition from Habsburg domination to the first post-war period, reflecting the urban and social transformations of the city of Trieste, both in its role as a commercial and cultural reference point and in the architectural and functional transformations that have marked its evolution in the subsequent decades.