Milan
Neo-Romanesque 19th c. building
After three temporary sites were set up offering meals at a low price, the Cucine Economiche (Cheap Meals) building was constructed in 1886 near the old Gabelle bridge over the Naviglio della Martesana.
Created to ease the suffering of those at the bottom of the social pyramid, the Cucine Economiche were developed following the ideological fervour that accompanied the debates and congresses of the National Exhibition of 1881 held near the Public Gardens.
The building was designed by Luigi Broggi and is an example of Milanese Neo-Romanesque. The purpose of the building was reflected in its strict rationality and pure volumetry. Split on two floors (the kitchens and dining room on the ground floor and the offices upstairs), it is characterized by elegant decorative elements: the low arched doorways and windows, the alternating bands of ceramic and plaster, the simple motifs in staggered brick are an effective and remarkable example of architecture in a charitable building.
| Neighborhood: | Isola |
| Address: | Viale Monte Grappa, 8 |
| Milan, 20124 |
| Nearest train: | MM2 Turati |