Palazzo di Giustizia

Palazzo di Giustizia presents a stern, symmetrical face to the city, its main façade a lesson in hierarchical order. Three horizontal bands, divided by string courses, are matched by a vertical tripartite division: a broad central section flanked by slightly projecting side wings, their corners fortified with rusticated quoins. The ground floor is anchored by a grand central portal, a full-centred arch with a moulded frame and rusticated voussoirs, supporting a formal balcony on robust corbels. Arched openings, originally square-headed, pierce the ground floor, while the upper storeys are lit by windows with moulded sills, linear frames, and trabeated heads. The string courses hint at the building’s phased construction and expansion, culminating in a modillioned cornice; atop all rises a clock tower. Turn the corner, however, and the architecture relaxes. The other elevations, in plain brickwork, are stark and functional. The rear is an irregular jumble of added volumes at different levels, while the right flank’s disordered openings create a discordant ensemble. Here, segmental-arched doors and windows with simple brick frames serve utility, not ceremony.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.