# Direzionale "Lorenzo Manfredini' – Alcatraz – Modena – Italy – June 2019



## mockney reject (Jun 21, 2019)

The history

It took me a while to find some history on this place as I didn’t know its real name and as it had no signage on it to help me.

In 1984 the "Detailed Plan for the Corassori area" was approved, developed by Gregotti Associati, followed in 1987 by a series of variations to some sub-sectors, including the large lot on which the new service centre of the Banco San Geminiano and San Prosperous were to be located. 







The project by Carlo Rusconi Clerici was designed to mark the junction at the Corassori avenue and via Formigina with an imposing an important looking building. 

The entire complex, "isolated" by a deep but dry moat that allows the illumination of a basement level at 4 meters below the ground level. This is where the archives and technical rooms are located, consisting of several floors, an external perimeter of three floors above ground with a triangular design intended for archives and offices, and on one side with a main entrance. The eleven floors above ground are where the executive and operational offices are located.

The project idea clearly suggests the "fortress" style is suited to this type of banking building. It has laid empty for many years mainly due to a certain oversizing compared to the real needs of the client - further aggravated by the subsequent absorption of the San Geminiano and San Prospero into another banking group. 

In January 2010, Numeria , the owners of the building, asked the municipality of Modena (and obtained) for a variation to the town planning to allow them to convert the Manfredini executive office into commercial and office space and to build the new Virgin gym with an adjoining pool.

In July 2011 was the World Trade Centre (WTC) project was presented to the press, an organization, controlled by the same Brioschi, that would have substantially modified a small part of the city of Modena. The plans for the former Manfredini executive office, for which the Numeria - WTC project included a fitness centre with an adjoining swimming pool and “polychrome glass windows” and - in fact - the WTC, a business centre to be built in the former bank that once broken in two would have housed a gallery with shops, offices and even a swimming pool to accommodate workers at the entrance!

It seems however that this was just a scheme to keep interest in the building and later in 2011 the plans were pulled.

There are currently no plans for anything to be done with the building and it continues to remain dormant.

It has earned the nickname “Alcatraz” from the locals due to its impending fortress like design.

The Explore

I can’t really take the credit for this one, we met up with @urbexmooch whilst out in Italy and his host had mentioned to him about this derelict bank. 

Well we kinda expected a small town type bank, definitely not the gargantuan monster we pulled up at.





















Upon an initial inspection it looked like we had no chance of getting in, the formerly dry moat was now flooded and looking very green and stagnant.





















Eventually we found a way in and made our way around what was essentially a stripped out old building with the odd bit of goodness.


































































Once we made our way up the stairs we decided to have a lazy half hour chilling out on the roof.





















So at this point you may be thinking, “it’s a bank, where’s the vault?”

Erm well it’s er down there somewhere






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## mookster (Jun 21, 2019)

That's certainly an imposing fortress of a building - a shame about the vault!


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## Sam Haltin (Jun 23, 2019)

Quite an imposing building. My piggy bank is smaller than this.


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