PALAZZO REZZARA OR CASA DEL POPOLO ---

The design of this grand eclectic-style palace is credited to Virginio Muzio and Ernesto Pirovano, among the most renowned architects active in Bergamo during that period. The two architects were commissioned by the Unione delle Istituzioni Sociali Cattoliche Bergamasche, which intended to build a new home for its various associations and financed the project also through public subscription. The entire complex is today dedicated to Niccolò Rezzara, who was president at the time. Since its inauguration in 1908, the building has housed various other activities: a hotel, a restaurant, shops and residences, a bank, and the offices and printing press of L'Eco di Bergamo, the daily newspaper most read by Bergamaschi. It also contained the Rubini theater hall, which was later transformed to make room for the Centro Congressi Papa Giovanni X