Antica edicola dei giornali
A cast-iron newspaper kiosk of 1882, half neo-Gothic and half Liberty, moved across Mantua to spare Alberti’s basilica and saved from ruin by public subscription.
At a glance
The Antica edicola dei giornali stands in Piazza Matilde di Canossa, in the centre of Mantua: a small newspaper kiosk of cast iron, sheet metal, wood and glass, built in 1882. Its style sits between neo-Gothic and Liberty — paired Gothic windows, an octagonal base, a worked-metal pinnacle on top. It first stood near the Basilica di Sant’Andrea, but in 1925 it was moved here so as not to crowd Alberti’s great church. By the late twentieth century it was decaying; in 1992 the Fondo Ambiente Italiano bought it by public subscription and restored it. It is one of the few historic kiosks of its kind left in Italy.
Key facts
- Location: Piazza Matilde di Canossa, Mantua, Lombardy
- What it is: a historic newspaper kiosk (edicola)
- Built: 1882, for the newsvendor Ulisse Sicola
- Style: between neo-Gothic and Liberty; cast iron, sheet metal, wood and glass on an octagonal base
- Moved: 1925, to Piazza Canossa, away from the Basilica di Sant’Andrea
- Acquired by the FAI: 1992, by public subscription; restored
History
In 1882 the Mantuan Ulisse Sicola was granted leave to set up a newspaper kiosk in the city centre. He built it near the Basilica di Sant’Andrea — but the small, ornate, modern object sat awkwardly beside Leon Battista Alberti’s Renaissance church. In 1925 Sicola was asked to move it, and the kiosk was carried to Piazza Canossa, where it still stands.
The edicola is a piece of late-nineteenth-century street design: cast and wrought iron, perforated sheet metal, wood and glass, raised on an octagonal masonry base, with paired Gothic windows and a beaten-metal pinnacle. It belongs to the eclectic moment between historicism and Liberty, when even a news-stand was built to be looked at.
By the 1980s it was decaying. In 1992 the Mantua delegation of the Fondo Ambiente Italiano launched a public subscription, bought the kiosk and restored it; a further campaign, “Edicola ritrovata”, cleaned and repainted it in 2004. Brought back to use, it returned to trade — for a time selling flowers before papers.
What you see
The kiosk is small and intricate: an octagonal cabin lifted on a stone base, its iron framework filled with glass and pierced metal, topped by a worked-metal spire. Up close it reads less as a shop than as a piece of jewellery for the square — the kind of everyday structure the nineteenth century liked to make beautiful.
It sits in Piazza Canossa, a quiet square a short walk from the monumental heart of Mantua, where it has stood for a century since its move.
Practical information
- A small structure in a public square, freely seen from outside
- A short detour from Piazza Mantegna and the Basilica di Sant’Andrea
- Best combined with a walk through central Mantua
- Allow 10–15 minutes
Getting there
Piazza Matilde di Canossa is in the historic centre of Mantua, a few minutes’ walk from Piazza delle Erbe and the Basilica di Sant’Andrea. Mantua is on rail lines from Verona, Modena and Milan; the old town is compact and walkable from the station.
Nearby
- The Basilica di Sant’Andrea, by Leon Battista Alberti
- Piazza delle Erbe and the Rotonda di San Lorenzo
- The Palazzo Ducale and Palazzo Te (UNESCO World Heritage)
Sources
- Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI) — property page
- Comune di Mantova
- Wikipedia — Edicola di piazza Canossa
- Villegiardini
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