History

The building was constructed in 1897 to house the first primary school in the centre of Nembro.
Its neoclassical style was “lightened” by Art Nouveau elements. The building later hosted the Town Hall until 1940, when it was moved to the “Casa Littoria Italo Balbo” nearby.
Since that year till the end of World War II, when it became a primary school again, the Palazzo became the headquarter of a Kindergarten, free paediatric clinic, dining hall for mothers, pasteurized milk dispensary.
From the Sixties to the year 1967, the building hosted a Professional School and the newly-established public Library.
From the Seventies to 1999 it housed the Professional Training Centre of Lombardy Region. Afterwards, in spite of the precarious conditions of fixtures and facilities, the local population started to appreciate it more, as it was the temporary seat for several events: painting exhibits, arts and crafts exhibitions, outdoor cinema, etc.
After a phasing-out period, this historic building was rearranged to host the new Library, as the old building wasn’t suitable anymore.

The “Palazzo”

The original layout was implemented with new surfaces. It was an enlargement and a reclamation project as well, where tradition meets innovation not just in the new layout of the new structures, but also in the use of materials, joining new values and old features.
The C-shaped pre-existing building, on two floor, surrounds a central yard. A transparent glass parallelepiped facility on three levels was added, which can be crossed by means of two staircases. Two very different entities, both in the shapes and surfaces and in the materials, as well; two volumes apparently separated, but linked together by means of an underground passageway.
From the main original entrance in Piazza Italia, visitors enter the reception and information area. The information area was obtained by renovating the previous facilities, regularising a few openings to create a wider and ore peculiar space.
Crossing this area, you can access the portico.
This zone, delimited by glass surfaces, opens the way to the actual library rooms.
The new layout allows visitors to enjoy a bright and uninterrupted route while accessing the reading rooms.
The new functions also contributed to change the building’s distribution elements: the old staircase was replaced by a new on in iron, disconnected from the wall, connecting the two floors with the new basement area.
The junction between the old and the new building is located on the underground floor: the courtyard represents the cover of a wide underground hall, thus creating a 4-levels Library. Therefore, it is not a mere transit area, but an important and usable space.
This underground connection route is lighted up by a series of round-shaped skylights (walkable glass) installed on the courtyard’s floor.

The crystal parallelepiped called “Torre” 

The new architectural element stands out from the pre-existing building thanks to the peculiar surface in bright red glazed cotto tiles. It is a sort of “screen” made of squared thin bricks (35x35x5 cm) manufactured one by one in Impruneta. The employment of cotto tile combines the traditional look and the innovative assembly technology
Each element is inserted on steel tubes joined to the supporting structure and can freely rotate around its own axis, creating an ever-changing alternation between light and shadow concealing the interiors and revealing them at the same time. The tiles are oriented and blocked by means of a special mechanism fixing them in a selected position, so that they can’t be misplaced by the wind.
In this way, the interiors’ exposure to the sun is filtered by the tiles as if they were Venetian blinds.
From the outside, the surface looks like a sort of see-through lamp covered by a special diffuser, screening off and filtrating the light.
In the middle of the parallelepiped there is a big wood bookshelf. Visitors can move freely all around it, facing the courtyard on one side and the ground floor interior spspace on the other (passing through the walkways), where the main reading room is.

Reference stop:
Nembro Centro

Distance: 0,2 KM
Extimated time:
  • 1 min.
  • 5 min.
How to reach Biblioteca Centro Cultura

The Biblioteca Centro Cultura is located in Piazza Italia. Following the uphill road leading to the centr of the village, the library is on the left.

Points of Interest