Brescia Due is a business district in Brescia, Italy, part of the Lamarmora administrative division. It is located south of the city centre. Its realization was planned by the city administration to relieve congestion in the city centre by moving business and tertiary activities to the new area.

Brescia Due
The skyscrapers of Brescia Due, seen from the mountains
The skyscrapers of Brescia Due, seen from the mountains
Map
Coordinates: 45°31′29″N 10°12′45″E / 45.524597°N 10.21246°E / 45.524597; 10.21246
CountryItaly
RegionLombardy
ProvinceBrescia
ComuneBrescia
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)

History

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The area in which the business district was built was predominantly rural, characterized by farmhouses and agricultural plots.

In 1954, mayor Bruno Boni began work on the construction of the overpass over the tracks of the Brescia railway station, a work that at the time would have cost almost a billion lire. The overpass was inaugurated on 5 November 1961 in the presence of the then Finance Minister Giuseppe Trabucchi. As a function of the opening of this infrastructure, the General Town Plan of 1961, drawn up under the coordination of the architect Mario Morini, envisaged allocating the area to a "New center of life": a modern business center of the city as opposed to the city centre. The urbanization of the area began in 1969, following the drafting of a detailed plan, and was called "Brescia Due".[1][2][3]

During 1972, Brescia Due, being a neighborhood under construction, was involved in the experimentation of ASM district heating. The service was launched in September of the same year and was then extended to the rest of the city in the following decade.[4][5]

The first skyscraper that came to life in the business district was the "Crystal Palace". Its construction (begun in 1988) was full of controversy: the initial project by architect Bruno Fedrigolli, presented in 1985, envisaged a height of 131 metres (430 ft), which would have made the structure the tallest skyscraper in Italy, exceeding the Pirelli Tower, located in Milan, by four metres (13 ft). The project encountered opposition from the Lombardy Region, which prevailed; the skyscraper, whose construction ended in 1992, thus saw its height reduced to 110 metres (360 ft).[6][7]

In subsequent years, other skyscrapers were added, including the CAP Tower (1993) and the Kennedy Tower (2004). In addition to the skyscrapers, the offices of Equitalia and UBI Banca have opened here over the years.[8]

Transport

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Underground

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The city is served by two underground stations: Lamarmora and Bresciadue.[9]

 
The interior of Bresciadue station

Urban bus service

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The urban bus service serves the area with lines 2, 4, 7, 10, 13, 14 and 15, connected to the rest of the city by the Kennedy overpass.[10]

Complex

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A view of the Brescia Due skyscrapers
Position Skyscraper Height
1 Crystal Palace 110 m (360 ft)
2 Cap Tower 82 m (269 ft)
3 Complesso Futura 70 m (230 ft)
4 Torre Kennedy 57 m (187 ft)
5 Torre Giardino 50 m (160 ft)
6 Torre Ambrosiana 50 m (160 ft)
7 UBI Palace 50 m (160 ft)
8 Torre Millenium 50 m (160 ft)
9 Torre Oberdan 46 m (151 ft)
10 Torre Symbol 45 m (148 ft)

References

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  1. ^ "INFRASTRUTTURE: I 50 ANNI DEL CAVALCAVIA KENNEDY, LA PORTA DI "BRESCIA DUE"" (PDF).
  2. ^ Piano Regolatore Generale (decreto 31 agosto 1961). Comune di Brescia. 1961. art. 16, 26.
  3. ^ "Brescia 2, la città nuova a sud del Cavalcavia Kennedy" (in Italian). Giornale di Brescia. p. 16.
  4. ^ "Si scavano a Brescia 2 le trincee per il teleriscaldamento antismog" (in Italian). Giornale di Brescia. 1972 [24 July]. p. 6.
  5. ^ "Vantaggi economici ed ecologici del teleriscaldamento urbano". Il Contatore (in Italian). 1972. pp. 26–29.
  6. ^ "Il GRATTACIELO più ALTO nei dintorni di Milano (che voleva essere il più alto d'Italia)".
  7. ^ "Brescia, la ferita che non si chiude".
  8. ^ "Ritratti di Brescia. Città frattale".
  9. ^ "Le stazioni".
  10. ^ "Mappe linee".