Michele De Lucchi's work on the headquarters of Banca Patrimoni Sella & C. at Palazzo Bricherasio in Turin is important not only for the city, but for the daily life of the building and the bank that is based there. The book begins by looking at the historical events surrounding the 17th-century palace, both from a purely architectural standpoint, and more generally from a cultural point of view.
The Cacherano Counts of Bricherasio, Lorenzo Delleani, the founding of FIAT, the Opera Don Orione charity, and the Palazzo Bricherasio Foundation are, for various reasons, all inextricably linked to the history of the building which still bears traces of them even today. The book looks very effectively at the building’s historical background and its contemporary role. It contains not only archive material but a broad selection of drawings and other images which portray the work done by Michele De Lucchi in the rooms which house the headquarters of the private bank owned by the Sella family and the furnishings designed for entertaining and work environments.
Michele De Lucchi’s project, based on the punctilious requests of his client, have given the palace a new identity which links the bank’s new headquarters closely to the history of Banca Patrimoni Sella & C.. The detailed description of the palace is balanced by the story of the bank, with references to its historical background and its values, with one eye firmly on the future.