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  • Detail of the panel painting of St. George and the Dragon, ex Officine San Giorgio, Pistoia.zoom in altra finestra
  • Façade of the entrance building, ex Officine San Giorgio, Pistoia.zoom in altra finestra

Ex Officine San Giorgio [Former Officine San Giorgio]

By initiative of the San Giorgio company of Genoa, a factory for the repair and construction of railway rolling-stock was built in Pistoia in 1905. The construction of the warehouses was entrusted to engineer Pino Becherucci, while the plan for the little entrance building, built between 1907 and 1098, was entrusted to architect Gino Coppedè.

The facade of the little building represents a valuable example of Liberty architecture adapted to an industrial building. Its decorative apparatus, simplified compared to the initial project, has a panel in painted ceramic that portrays Saint George in the act of killing the dragon, which alludes to the company name.

Activity began in 1907 and, after only two years, it became the largest industry in the city. Seriously damaged during World War II, the factory after reconstruction resumed the production of railway wagons and busses; the San Giorgio company was replaced by the new company Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie Pistoiesi (today Breda-Ansaldo). In 1973, the factory moved to its present headquarters near the motorway, and the original area became city property.

Today, part of the complex is in precarious conditions of maintenance, and the premises serve various functions.

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Texts by Graziano Magrini

English translation by Victor Beard

Last update 28/feb/2008