On my last day of vacation in Turin, Italy, I was walking down corso Francia chasing mountains. I wanted to come close to them as possible, but the more I was walking towards them, the more they seemed to pull away. At one point I decided that I will cross this last street and if I still be surrounded by buildings – I will give up. So I was walking and walking, looking around, expecting nothing, as my primary goal was the mountains. And there on the corner of corso Francia and via Principi d’Acaja I saw IT. The most beautiful, detailed building I have ever seen – built in art deco style. I instantly thanked all gods who did not let me give up on my journey and let me experience this grande beauty.
Casa Fenoglio-Lafleur is the liberty style building built in 1902 by an engineer Pietro Fenoglio (who also designed every detail of it: from the cast iron radiators to the drawing of the frame chassis, and so on). The whole building was built for Fenoglio family as a residency and the office as well. As the house was finished Fenoglio family sold this gem to a french businessman Lafleur, where he lived until his death. Even though the neighbourhood on the maps is called cit. Turin, the locals call it Liberty. Liberty was the new aesthetic style in Turin and around Casa Fenoglio-Lafleur you can find some more buildings decorated in the same style, but not so majestic, to be honest.
An elderly lady picked up and asked in italian what I wanted. And I said to her “do you speak english? Can I come in?” And she was about to drop the call, but deep in my mind I still had to try to push it one more time. So I started rambling about this beautiful art deco style exterior and I was wondering if it is so beautiful inside, too. Then, to my surprise the lady said “okay, I will open the door and let you in” (I guess mentioning art deco was my key). So I enter this mesmerising building with carved doors and decorated glass. I am still rambling “wow” in awe and looking around as I enter the main hall. Then, the incredible thing happens once again – the lady invites me inside the office, as it is mainly offices and just couple of flats here. She introduces me to her boss, who is sitting in the main room, his back turned to colourful stained glass balcony. The people are so friendly, they open the shutters for me, so I could see the windows from the inside. I am in such a shock of my luck that I forgot to ask the name of they gallery/what they are doing and many more things. But believe me, everything was so fascinating: from an old bench to new design table and white walls, to art nouveau posters in the corridor and aged red leather couch with old typewriter and many more.
As it was supposed to be the post about beautiful liberty-style architecture it is more about doing stuff even though you’re scared af. I was draining in sweat when I left the building, but also so happy and energised that I did it, my excitement was striking over the top, but I have never felt so happy, lucky and alive. So I guess, I could say that the moral of the story is: if you want it – ask for it.
The facade of the Casa Fenoglio-Lafleur is mesmerising: colourful stained glass windows, intricately wired gates, little details such as: flower paintings hugging windows, ornamented window frames and yellow crown sitting on top of the building. I lost the count of how many times I said out loud “wow”, but I was taken aback of what I just found. As a true tourist I walked around, took too many pictures of it and went further to chase my mountains.
But I couldn’t waste this opportunity here, as I remembered Mel Robbins 5 second rule just getting the s**t done. So I turned around crossed the street and just randomly picked the name plate and pushed the bell. What happened next is beyond my consciousness.
