Bartoli House Change this

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Casa Bartoli is located almost at the beginning of Corso Italia in Trieste. It is one of the best known and most famous Art Nouveau buildings in the city. The Art Nouveau style is still recognized in the touch of the cascading decorations of leaves while rationality is expressed in the multifunctional organization of the building.

Countess Muratti Bartoli comissioned Max Fabiani, an important figure among architects participating in the movement of Wien Secession, to design this building. Bartoli house was designed for both residential and commercial use. At the time, the ground floor housed a fabric store.

The large windows and marble finish are reminiscent of the legacy of Otto Wagner. The iron and glass terrace on the second floor in meant to suggest the presence of the kosher restaurant. The application of iron to the facade is very unusual for the city of Trieste in which buildings are typically build with masonry.

The residential floors, served by one of the first electric elevators in Trieste, was originally decorated with horizontal bands. Max Fabiani, referencing the Biedermeier style of the surrounding houses, designed a facade in which the vertical structural members are emphasized by a diamond pattern that gives way to a typical Vieniese stayle floral pattern. Bartoli home is a crossroads in the history of Trieste. It is a building that draws a line between eclectic and rationalist architecture.

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