Street lamp by the Archimede foundry of Messina

Photo 1 shows an old technical drawing sheet with four designs for cast-iron street lamp posts, each with height measurements and an oval stamp reading 'STAB. MECC. ARCHIMEDE MESSINA'. — Technical drawing sheet from the Archimede foundry of Messina showing four lamp post designs with heights in metres and the works’ oval stamp. Photo: Ortensio Mendicino, 2022.

Catanzaro · Calabria · Cast-iron street lamp

An ornate cast-iron lamp post in Catanzaro. The contributor identifies it as one of the last surviving examples from a commission to the Archimede foundry of Messina during the modernisation of the city’s public lighting.

At a glance

The lamp post stands at a curved brick corner in Catanzaro. It is a cast-iron street lamp with an ornate base and a lantern. The contributor states that it belongs to a commission made to the Archimede foundry of Messina and that it is one of the last remaining in the city.

Key facts

Where: Street corner, Catanzaro
What: Monument
When: Not documented in the sources found
GPS: 38.9091, 16.5890 · Open in Google Maps

History

The contributor states that the lamp post is one of the last remaining in the city from the commission given to the Archimede works of Messina, and that this commission was made when public lighting was being modernised. The technical drawing sheet photographed by the contributor shows four designs for cast-iron street lamp posts and bears an oval stamp with the name of the Archimede works of Messina.

What you see

The first photograph shows an old technical drawing sheet with four designs for cast-iron street lamp posts. Each design is accompanied by height measurements in metres. The sheet bears an oval stamp reading «STAB. MECC. ARCHIMEDE MESSINA». The second photograph shows a tall grey cast-iron lamp post with an ornate base and a lantern, standing at a curved brick corner in Catanzaro. In the background are other lamp posts and modern buildings, with signs reading «CALABRIA», «BANCA» and «IL CIGN».

The second photograph shows details not described in the existing text: the lamp post has a fluted shaft and stands beside stone steps at the curved brick corner, with a multi-lantern lamp post visible behind it. The drawing sheet includes individual design identifiers «off. 1», «off. 2», «off. 5» and «off. 6» alongside the heights already recorded.

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Nearby

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Gallery

A tall grey cast-iron lamp post with an ornate base and a lantern on a street corner beside a brick wall, with other lamp posts and buildings in the background. — An ornate cast-iron lamp post stands at a curved brick corner in Catanzaro, with further lamps and modern buildings along the street Photo: Ortensio Mendicino, 2022.

An aged technical drawing sheet with four designs of cast-iron street lamp posts, each with height measurements and an oval stamp reading 'STAB. MECC. ARCHIMEDE MESSINA'. — Technical drawing of four cast-iron lamp post designs from the Archimede foundry in Messina, with measurements and the firm's oval stamp Photo: Ortensio Mendicino, 2022.

A tall grey cast-iron street lamp with an ornate fluted shaft and lantern standing on a curved brick corner beside stone steps, with a multi-lantern lamp post and a street with cars in the background. — One of the last surviving Archimede-foundry lamp posts in Catanzaro, standing on a brick corner near steps, with a multi-lantern post and traffic behind Photo: Ortensio Mendicino, 2022.

Sources

Il capitale culturale. Studies on the Value of Cultural Heritage, Dal Museo Provinciale di Catanzaro al MARCA – Museo delle Arti: contextual background on the cultural heritage of Catanzaro
Ortensio Mendicino, photographs and notes to the editorial staff (2026): identification of the subject. Not a published source

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