Eclectic monumentalism and building construction avantgarde. The “Palazzo della Provincia” in Bari

The Italian Government, between 1920 and 1940, enhanced radical urban development: new infrastructures and buildings represented a central point of Italian urban regeneration. Buildings became a strategic “power-tool” to represent the supremacy of Government, with imposing buildings, large columns, and solid “stereotomic” construction. The Government focused its works on important cities that were characterised by the limits of the waterfront, namely the entry point in Italy. The research analyses the “Palazzo della Provincia” in Bari, which becomes a manifesto of Regime’s autarchy, highlighting the historical, architectural and constructive events of the time; however, it represents this idea of urban regeneration, changing the original asset of historic center of Bari. The solid construction of stone cladding systems, hidden an imposing “construction machine”, as a result of constant evolution of building construction techniques, industrial experimentation and anti-seismic systems (such as the “DUPLEX” slab system, designed by Arturo Danusso in 1912). This study aims to demonstrate that it’s possible to improve knowledge of the Modern archi- tectural heritage, through research of archival documentation (aimed to minimize not suitable intervention and destructive diagnostics, as well). Therefore, the technological analysis of the case study (in particular the knowledge of building construction and materials) becomes an essential tool to define a correct methodological approach for the recovery intervention of these architectural heritages. In this way, it is possible to give multiple information between history, architectural aspects, building traditions and industrial modernisms, to guarantee not only the preservation of the buildings but also the values that they represent.