Case IACP: an example of typical public housing during the Fascist period
In 1936 Benito Mussolini ordered to demolish the dilapidated neighbourhood of San Domenico right below the Cesena castle “la Rocca” in order to construct a complex of public housing. The construction of the complex was initiated at the beginning of 1937 and completed in record time to accommodate the inhabitants of the demolished buildings. The plans present several analogies with the arrangement of the Bissoncello neighbourhood in Milan, created by Ernesto Griffini.
The complex includes four buildings: all three stories high. The ground floor was designed to have a more commercial function housing four different stores, but also four apartments with four rooms each. The first and second floor hosted a greater quantity of accommodations, though of smaller size: each floor had 6 apartments with three rooms and 8 apartments with two rooms.
In 1944, the building complex was damaged by arial incursions and restored in September 1945. In the 1980s, the Istituto Autonomo Case Popolari (IACP) of Forlì elaborated a restoration programme, focusing on the rearrangement of the internal courtyards and some variations on the organisation of the accommodations.
Still today, the outside facades present a simple rhythm, alternating plastered surfaces and exposed brickwork. Moreover, the inward position of the accommodations, combined with the protruding balconies, produce a mix of shadow and light.