Historic Headquarters of the Cassa di Risparmio

The Cassa di Risparmio building in Via Bufalini has a long history. Built in the late sixteenth century near Palazzo Pucci, it enjoyed a golden age in the late nineteenth century as the residence of Giuseppe Pucci, a lover of art and culture who collected ancient coins and books. After his death it passed to his two sisters, then was sold in 1865 to Cosimo Ridolfi to become the seat of the Florence savings bank, of which he was a founding member. The bank’s original premises gradually expanded towards Piazza Santa Maria Nuova, Via de’ Servi and, along Via del Castellaccio, Piazza Brunelleschi behind. In 1886 architect Ulisse Faldi remodelled the interiors while preserving the exterior. Decorations added in the 1920s and 1930s, including work by the Chini family, have all been lost except the elegant glazed doors at the main entrance and a terracotta floor upstairs. In 1931 adjoining areas were purchased from Santa Maria Nuova Hospital. The rest became part of an urban plan that opened today’s Piazza Brunelleschi, freed the Rotonda degli Angeli from surrounding structures and built the Casa del Mutilato, designed by Rodolfo Sabatini. Giovanni Michelucci was commissioned to redesign the bank’s spaces in 1953. The foundation stone of the new building was laid on 25 March 1954, the feast of the Annunciation. It was to include a large public hall, bills office, offices, garage and vault. Michelucci sought a dynamic relationship between inside and outside: large windows overlooking the internal garden, exposed reinforced concrete, light glass, wood and brass architectural profiles, white plaster walls and elegant white-marble floors with strips of red Verona marble. The building opened on 29 September 1957. It now serves both as an Intesa Sanpaolo bank office and an exhibition space for art collections.