Beyond the Renaissance in Florence - The new Palace of Justice, the construction

Leonardo Ricci died in 1994, construction began in 2000 and the work was inaugurated in 2012.

It is the second largest Palace of Justice in Italy, after the one in Turin, covers 3 hectares of land and has a useful area of ​​126,000 square meters. The measurements are: 230 m by 180 m, maximum height 76 m. Other numbers that give an idea of ​​the grandeur of the construction: 54,000 cubic meters of concrete used and 5465 tons of steel for reinforced concrete. And, as in the intentions of the client, it brings together all the judicial offices of the province and also the Lawyers Association.

The large open spaces that surround the building, the large avenues, the square in front and the San Donato Park to the east, highlight its large size. The palace is visible from almost the whole city and comes to condition the landscape, rivaling the Brunelleschi's Dome. It was decided to create an impactful structure, which must dominate, strike, astonish, épater le bourgeois as it was said in the 1800s.

The analysis of the structure is not simple, both due to its size and because the architect has intentionally created a complexity of different surfaces and architectural elements that at first can be confusing. It should be seen point by point.

THE GENERAL STRUCTURE. There is an evident desire to present a system of volumes that are broken down and then assembled on different floors, to give complexity and perception of an urban agglomeration, not a single building. The emergency stairs are also housed in external towers. You get the feeling of being able to deconstruct the whole, separate all the volumes. A unitary and uniform structure with these dimensions would in fact have given an image of excessive heaviness and grandeur. A barracks effect.

THE APPARENT ASYMMETRY. The need to break an unwelcome symmetry justifies the long oblique colored cords (white on the facade, dark brown on the sides) that delimit large glazed surfaces, oblique to the north, vertical to the south. The sense of poor cohesion and the asymmetries are only apparent, because the plant then sees all the parts aligned and the internal functions well-defined.

THE FACADE. Large concrete surfaces, large windows that draw horizontal and oblique geometries, a central section, on which opens the large internal corridor (called “the basilica”), defined by two blind towers on the facade, joined by a dark-colored covered suspension bridge with a large circular window, a sort of symmetrical heart of the building, a cathedral rose window.

THE INTERNAL BASILICA. The construction then develops with two bodies containing classrooms and offices, all overlooking the central area, the "basilica", which runs along its entire length. The space is illuminated by a full glass roof, a large glazed square above the main entrance and a glazed trapezoid at the rear. The maximum brightness for a space conceived as a social and meeting center, like a town square.

JUSTICE AS A RELIGION. It is no coincidence that the central space is called a basilica because the idea of ​​a cathedral is inherent in the project. You find it in the elongated plan, in the concept of the facade of an elongated body, in the "basilica" as a central nave, in the towers as a double bell tower (Notre Dame has 2 bell towers), in the rose window, in the exaggerated use of glass also on the side walls with surfaces that do not correspond to the light needs of the rooms behind. It was decided to sanctify, celebrate the idea of ​​justice, give it a metaphysical, superhuman, not purely administrative meaning. But bright, colorful and welcoming, not the bleak Bargello castle, the seat of Florentine justice in the Middle Ages.

TENT. Michelucci's style, best expressed in the Church of San Giovanni Battista on the Autostrada del Sole, certainly influenced the whole project. The church, built between 1960 and 1964 to commemorate the workers who died in the construction of the Autostrada del Sole, is a recognized masterpiece, it is said to be one of the most important of the twentieth century. The structure, in concrete and copper, recalls a tent that rests on poles and tie rods, lost in the plain, in that point little built and isolated between the motorway junctions, the modern caravan routes traveled by modern pilgrims. The tent as a refuge, protection of the traveler in the desert. Also in the Palazzo di Giustizia of Ricci there is the motif of the tent. Oblique surfaces leaning against large soaring pylons that sprout, highlighted by colored ribs, similar to poles and tie rods that seem to support a large sail.

THE CHOICE OF MATERIALS AND THE HYPER-MODERN IMAGE. The great use of iron, glass and concrete, the upward thrust of the towers, spiers and cords determines a feeling of hyper-modernism, hyper-technology. A heavily industrialized society that points to the sky, to the future, indeed post-industrial and a little alien. A science fiction idea that touches on Disney comics, Batman's Gotham City, Antonio Sant’Elia's futurist city.

THE SCULPTURES. The sculptures, placed inside and out, also fit into this futurist atmosphere. The tube-fountain with asymmetrical water outlet holes by Sisley Xhafa ("J"), the metal tunnel by Virginia Zanetti ("The starry sky above me"), the resin propeller by Shigeru Saaito ("Before of the sunset"), the vertical ribbon with symmetrical neon by Antonio Violetta ("Justice"), the block of materials that is crystallizing ("Metabole") and the large carved metal door by Onofrio Pepe ("The door of the myth" ). A modest and traditional obelisk in the center of the square that bears his name, in front of the facade, was dedicated to Lando Conti, mayor of Florence from 1984 to 1985, killed by the Red Brigades in 1986.

Compared to the initial project, the circular square is missing, transformed into an elongated triangle, flattened on viale Guidoni, a road with a very high volume of traffic. The "arms" of Michelucci's drawings that were supposed to welcome the user are missing and also the "reflecting pool". The internal basilica is not open to the outside on all sides and is not accessible out of hours by ordinary citizens, so its "social" function has been restricted to official users.

The white and green marbles, typical of Gothic-Renaissance Florentine monuments, were not used for the exterior. The chromatic reference is therefore limited to the reddish-brown color of the coatings, which are reminiscent of the stones and bricks of the structures of monumental churches such as Santa Maria Novella, San Lorenzo and Santa Croce.

The work, under discussion, design and construction, triggers endless controversies. On aesthetics, expense, functionality, practically every detail, with even vulgar and offensive tones. Perhaps the most ferocious expressions ever heard in the city for an architectural work.

Of all the negative judgments, we report the one by Vittorio Sgarbi, a famous art critic and scholar: "The Palace of Justice should be bombed ... it is the ugliest in the world, it is an example of unnecessary spending, architects who designed it should be arrested, the horror they planned cries out for revenge and the magistrates should defend Florence from such a c… !". And also, speaking of this and other Italian courts: “Do the magistrates often condemn the innocent and do not ask themselves the question of who caused this horror? Why does it have to be done like this? Why don't they open an investigation into the costs and poor materials with which it was built? Why doesn't Davigo (the president of the National Magistrates Association) worry about aesthetic corruption?". And comparing the New Palace in Florence with the on in Savona, also designed by Leonardo Ricci: "These two buildings are fighting to determine which is the ugliest place in Italy. What credibility does a magistrate have who works in such a place? Investigate who has allowed this foul image!”.

Top photo: "The door of the myth" by Onofrio Pepe and "Before of the sunset" by Shigeru Saaito.