Negozio Martini
The historic Chalet Martini of 1899 beside the Gran Caffè Margherita: a Liberty shopfront by Modesto Orzali, bombed in 1944 and rebuilt in simplified form in 1947.
At a glance
The Negozio Martini stands on Viale Regina Margherita, next door to the Gran Caffè Margherita. Originally the Chalet Martini, it was built in 1899 to a design by Modesto Orzali, with ceiling decorations by Tito Chini — part of the first, pre-fire generation of Viareggio Liberty. The wooden building was struck by bombing in 1944 and rebuilt in 1947 in simplified form; what stands today is that reconstruction, still a five-bay shopfront of wooden pilasters on a marble base and still in trade.
Key facts
- Built: 1899, as the Chalet Martini
- Architect: Modesto Orzali
- Decoration: original ceilings by Tito Chini (lost in the war)
- Style: Liberty (Art Nouveau)
- Front: five bays, wooden pilasters on a marble base, with a pedimented central window
- Today: a clothing shop (Samuele Martini)
- War damage: bombed 1944; rebuilt 1947 in simplified form
- On: Viale Regina Margherita, beside the Gran Caffè Margherita
- Coordinates: 43.867300, 10.242940 — Google Maps
History
Before the 1917 fire, Viareggio’s seafront was already trying on the new Liberty taste. The Chalet Martini opened in 1899, a shop by Modesto Orzali decorated inside by Tito Chini, of the Chini dynasty of ceramists and painters that would shape so much of the town’s look.
The building did not come through the Second World War intact: bombing in 1944 brought it down, and it was rebuilt in 1947 in simplified form, its wooden gallery and much of its decoration lost. What carries on under the Martini name is that post-war reconstruction of an early Viareggio Liberty shop.
What you see
The front is organised in five bays, the central one widened for the main display window. Slender wooden pilasters rise from a marble-clad base to a pediment of articulate design over the entrance — a shopfront conceived as a small piece of architecture rather than a mere window.
The original Tito Chini ceiling did not survive the war; the present shopfront is the 1947 rebuilding, which kept the five-bay rhythm while simplifying the ornament.
Practical information
- The premises are a working shop; the historic front is visible from Viale Regina Margherita.
- Stands immediately beside the Gran Caffè Margherita — see the two together.
- Part of the central Liberty stretch of the Passeggiata.
Getting there
Viareggio is on the Genoa–Rome and Lucca railway lines. The shop is on the central Passeggiata, about a kilometre from the station towards the sea.
Nearby
- Gran Caffè Margherita — the domed Chini café next door
- Magazzini Duilio 48 — the 1920s Liberty store
- Bagno Balena — the bathing establishment with Chini’s 1928 entrance
Sources
- Comune di Viareggio — the Liberty Passeggiata
- Catalogo generale dei Beni Culturali (ICCD)
- Itinerario Liberty di Viareggio
Find it on the map
See this place and what’s around it →📷 Diventa un fotografo di Cultural Heritage Online
Condividi le tue foto dei luoghi: restano pubblicate con la tua firma come autore. Più vengono viste, più ti fai conoscere — e presto un concorso premierà le foto più apprezzate.
Accedi o registrati gratis per aggiungere una foto