Palazzo Barbera, also known as Casa Barbera, is a prominent building facing Reggio Calabria's seafront, on the corner of corso Vittorio Emanuele III and the present-day largo Cristoforo Colombo, with a side front on viale Genoese Zerbi.
What to see
The original design, drawn up in 1924 by the engineer Antonio Marino, was revised in January 1926 by the engineer Domenico Corigliano, who altered its boundaries, internal layout and façade arrangement; initially two storeys above a basement, with shops on the ground floor and homes above, the building had a floor added in the 1960s.
The building stands out for its curved corner solution and the imposing architecture of its façades: on the main front, facing the seafront, the central block is marked by two pairs of Ionic columns on a tall base, topped on the upper floor by three arched openings with an elongated keystone and rustic ashlar work; on the first floor, three balconies with concrete balustrades correspond to them, supported by corbels that also carry the cornice and pediment, while a fluted frieze runs the length of the façade beneath a parapet decorated with cartouches.
Visiting
The palace is a private building with shops on the ground floor: it can be admired while walking along the seafront and corso Vittorio Emanuele III.
Our editors' tip
Look at the curved corner facing viale Genoese Zerbi: it is the most original feature of the whole building and one of the few spots on Reggio's seafront where early 20th-century architecture openly takes on the curve of a street corner.
