The Lodge will deprive itself of one of its jewels: the former wash house in via delle Battaglia 13/B is officially on sale. The municipality of Brescia – owner of the property since 1901 – has banned the sale of the valuable building. The basis of the tender to purchase the 95 square meter property was set at 180 thousand euros. The structure, located in the historic center, is subject to the protection of the superintendency since it was declared of cultural interest in 1915.
A lived-in place, the former wash house. The Loggia acquired the building at the beginning of the 20th century to meet the needs of the period, namely to offer a clothes washing service to the residents of the neighborhood. However, in the seventies, the building was closed by gates and the tanks were removed. Consequently, it remained unused for a long time until 2004 when the conservative restoration intervention allowed the installation of an internal structure in wood and iron. These works were necessary to give new life to the space, which had become a restoration and conservation consultancy laboratory with service accommodation rented out.
The former house-shop of medieval design has a main access in Via delle Battaglia and a secondary view onto Vicolo Due Torri and It is spread over four levels, two of which are mezzanines. It is configured as a passing portico, today closed by windows and gates «with the fronts on the two streets (via delle Battaglia and vicolo Due Torri, ed.) characterized by pointed arch portals with decorated rings and terracotta elements» we learn in the document of 29 March 2023 drawn up by the regional secretariat for Lombardy of the Ministry of Culture.
At the moment, the internal space includes the laboratory on the ground floor and mezzanine; the residential unit on the first and second mezzanine. Therefore, the intended uses – permitted by article 2.4.8 of the Technical Implementation Standards (Annex 2) – include both the single-family residential category and “residence divided into flats”; up to 40% of the so-called gross floor area (GFA) of the building unit can be allocated to “public establishments, offices and professional studios, activities
retail trade and service crafts”.
Persons interested in the acquisition can file your offer until 12pm on Thursday 13 June but, before formalizing the request, they must carry out an inspection in agreement with the Public Heritage Enhancement sector of the municipality of Brescia. The Loggia communicates that, to participate in the procedure and to view the documentation, you must access the website infogare.comune.brescia.it and from there, under the heading “Acts of the contracting authorities and contracting entities separately for each procedure”, in the “Public notices in progress” section.
The site is located in an archaeological risk area therefore «in order to ensure effective protection of any buried structures and stratifications protected pursuant to Legislative Decree no. 42/2004, every intervention project involving excavations underground, even of modest depth, must be subject to authorization by the competent Superintendence in order to plan any preventive investigations” we read in the ministerial sheet. The place has been disused for a few years but is now ready for a new life.
