Cisternino di città, Neoclassical cistern in Piazza Guerrazzi, Livorno, Italy.
Cisternino di città is a compact rectangular reservoir with a semicircular apse on its western facade, facing Piazza Guerrazzi. The Via Grande side has a Palladian loggia with six Ionic columns flanked by two arches above a massive base, while the Piazza della Repubblica front shows two large round-arched windows.
Construction took place between 1837 and 1848 under architect Pasquale Poccianti's direction. The building was designed to receive water from the Acquedotto di Colognole and serve as a storage facility within Livorno's water infrastructure system.
The name distinguishes it from Livorno's other reservoirs, the Cisternone and the Cisternino di Pian di Rota, both outside the centre. Reopened to the public on 11 November 2017, it now hosts municipal culture and youth-policy initiatives. The post-war intermediate floor that split the tank also housed the Casa della Cultura.
The structure sits at the intersection of Piazza Guerrazzi and Piazza della Repubblica, making it easy to find in the city center. Access is available through the main entrance at Largo del Cisternino, where visitors can enter and explore the cultural space inside.
The interior vault is carried by a series of wall diaphragms rather than the square pillars used in Livorno's other cisterns, the Cisternone and the Cisternino di Pian di Rota. A small door on the western apse side was the only entrance before the northern front was added after World War II bombing.
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