Palazzo dei Congressi

The building, born as an imposing luxury hotel (Grand Hôtel des Thermes), was designed in 1898 by the architect Luigi Broggi (1851-1926) and inaugurated in 1901. The management was initially entrusted to two hotel entrepreneurs, Cesare Ritz and the Baron Pfiffer, already owners of prestigious hotels in various European locations. This was an element that played an important role in attracting an elite clientele at an international level.

Style Architecture and changes

The building has a horseshoe-shaped layout, originally with three hundred rooms spread over four floors, while the façade is decorated with alternating bands of exposed brick.

The wrought iron railing and canopy at the entrance were designed by Alessandro Mazzucotelli, while the exterior and interior decorative paintings were originally entrusted to Gottardo Valentini.

After World War I, the hotel was sold to the Società Anonima Grandi Alberghi Salsomaggiore, which expanded the building with the construction of a new wing, attached to the existing one and facing the park, to house the Salone Moresco, the Taverna Rossa, and the Loggiato, works by Ugo Giusti and Galileo Chini.

The latter was responsible for the decorations in the interior rooms, inspired by the Moorish style, and the renovation of the ceiling of the Sala delle Cariatidi in Japanese style.

Also involved in the work were Antonio Veronesi, who was responsible for the dome of the Salone Moresco, whose glass came from the Chini furnaces in Borgo San Lorenzo; the sculptor Salvatore Aloisi, who created the models for the stuccoes and sculptures; and finally Franco Spicciani of Lucca, an imaginative furniture maker who designed red lacquered tables and chairs for the Taverna.

After World War II, the hotel passed to Count Leoni and in 1965 was purchased by the Municipality of Salsomaggiore Terme, which transformed it into the Palazzo dei Congressi.

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