Partenope Conference Centre

By Gemma Belli

At via Partenope, 36 stands the Conference Centre of the Federico II University, in a remarkable setting, below Monte Echia, a few metres from the sea, and almost opposite Castel dell'Ovo. Having acquired a building in Via Chiatamone and another in Via Partenope, the area was chosen in 1922 as headquarters by the Regio Istituto Superiore di Scienze Economiche e Commerciali (Royal Institute of Economic and Commercial Sciences). The premises, however, immediately proved to be inadequate. Thus, the Institute decided to plan the construction of a new building on the seafront, which was then destined to house the Department of Economics and Commerce. Once the Ministry of Industry and Commerce had given its approval, the project was entrusted to engineer Carlo Martinez and the building, constructed by Leopoldo De Lieto, was inaugurated in October 1928, albeit incomplete. A public competition for its completion was announced in 1934 and won by Roberto Pane (1897–1987). He gave the building its current appearance, redesigning the façades and the interior (1937). With its understated and monumental image, and its symmetrical, blocky geometry, the palace stands out in the row of buildings it is embedded in, largely erected during the second half of the 19th century, when tracts of land were reclaimed from the sea in the Santa Lucia area. The elevations are based on the Renaissance style. In particular, the main façade, marked by the chromatic contrast between red brick and light marble, is divided into three sectors. The massive base is entirely covered in travertine; its middle section is opened by three large portals, while there are two windows on the two side sections. This leads to an interplay of full and empty spaces, light and shadow. The main part of the two-storey building, on the other hand, is characterised by the contrast between the brick cladding and the travertine of the cornices, balustrades and, above all, the six pilasters that emphatically mark the centre of the composition. The top floor, with its row of windows resting on the marble stringcourse, represents the building's crowning glory, slightly enlivened by the small protrusion of the five central sectors. On the inside, Pane's intervention focused mainly on the atrium, the monumental staircase at the central courtyard, and the great hall. In these spaces the predominantly Art Déco style indulges in greater decorative freedom, and the architect demonstrates significant chromatic experience, based on fine juxtapositions and skilful contrasts. Although not an example of "great architectural qualities" (De Fusco 2004, 363), the building, converted into a Conference Centre since 1998, is interesting because it reveals a segment of Roberto Pane's activity as a designer, recounting his direct relationship with the building material and with the development of ‘the new’ (de Martino 2010, 111). This testifies to the architect's adherence to the neo-historicist trend, reflected here in stylised shapes hinting at the Renaissance style. The result echoes some of the works realised in the same years in the Rione Carità, for example by Ferdinando Chiaromonte.

From the volume "Passeggiando per la Federico II" (second updated edition) edited by Alessandro Castagnaro - photographs by Roberto Fellicò - FedOAPress