Historic Building – Warowland Building

Continuing across Piazza Berzieri, at the end of the Thermal Spa stands the Warowland Building, named after the Milanese art gallery of the same name which opened a branch in Salsomaggiore.

Designed in 1912 by the architect Orsino Bongi (1875-1921) upon the commission of count Ladislao Tyszkiewicz, and inaugurated in 1914, it features structural stylistic elements that take inspiration from neo-medieval Lombard style; this is particularly clear in the building’s ground plan, resembling a cloister, which wraps around an internal garden facing the Berzieri Thermal Spa. The use of wrought iron too, in addition to the decorative elements, the coats of arms, the graffito plasterwork (which simulates a covering of “fish scales”) and the use of wood as an ornamental and structural material (for floors and interior staircases) are also reminiscent of the neo-medieval style and make this building unique.

In 1919, ownership of the building passed to the marchioness Alberta Dalla Rosa Zambelli, but later that same year it was expropriated by the state and became the seat of the Thermal Spa administration department. Today it houses the IAT Tourist Information Office.