Palazzo Mincuzzi

This richly decorated façade belongs to the Palazzo Mincuzzi, located at the heart of the Murat district, the modern center of the city. At the beginning of the 20th century, Bari underwent rapid growth, and this street became the city’s most elegant shopping street. It was here that the Mincuzzi family, textile merchants, decided to build a grand department store that would serve both as a shop and a symbol of their success. The project was entrusted to architect Aldo Forcignanò and engineer Gaetano Palmiotto. Construction began in 1926, and the building was inaugurated on October 28, 1928, the sixth anniversary of Mussolini’s March on Rome, which marked his rise to power. In Mussolini’s Italy, this date had become the national day for inaugurations and regime celebrations. While it cannot be stated with certainty that this choice reflected the Mincuzzi family’s political convictions, it certainly says something about the era: building large, inaugurating on that day, and receiving the city's authorities was a way of fitting into the times, whether one adhered to or simply adapted to the political context. Now, look at the façade. The most visible feature is the large dome placed at the building’s corner. It was designed to catch the eye of passersby walking up Via Sparano. An architectural gesture created so that the building couldn’t simply be ignored. Come a little closer and observe the details. You’ll see majestic lions seemingly watching over the street for almost a century, as well as more discreet mascaroni, sculpted faces in the stone. The building's style is known in Italy as stile Liberty, the Italian equivalent of Art Nouveau. What’s interesting is that, at the time of its construction, this style had already fallen somewhat out of fashion in the rest of Europe, where Art Deco was starting to dominate. Therefore, the Palazzo Mincuzzi appears almost as an elegant architectural latecomer, and this is also what gives it its particular charm today. If you pass by here in the evening, take another look at the façade. The lighting particularly enhances the building’s sculptures and reliefs, offering a great way to see this palace from a different perspective.