Alghero, Lavagna Palace

The building is located in a key point in the historic center of Alghero: the Piazza Civica, the former seat of the civil authorities, today an important space used for recreational and cultural activities.
The building was built in 1873 on Gothic-Catalan pre-existences of which, until recently, there remained two mullioned windows on the d. side of the façade, which are no longer visible today.
The façade has elegant lines that reflect neoclassical models. The partition of the main floor is in fact punctuated by four pilasters with a Corinthian capital. For the rest, the surface is smooth, framed by a high plinth in square sandstone ashlars, and culminates with a jutting bezel notched on shelves.
The ground floor is framed by four ring arches on pilasters, which frame four entrances surmounted by the rectangular windows of the mezzanine. The main entrance leads to an atrium with decorated ceilings, which contains a monumental staircase; the other entrances lead to the warehouses, consisting of barrel-vaulted basements, with a floor level lower than the street level.
The first floor is divided by pilasters with a Corinthian capital, which frame four wrought iron balconies on vulcanite shelves, and surmounted by lintels with phytomorphic reliefs. The central compartment leaves space, between two balconies, for a slate sundial, dated 1866, with the inscription “coelestium index”.
The second floor, on the other hand, has four simple rectangular windows at the lower balconies.
Uninteresting is the secondary façade, which overlooks the port and has no significant architectural or sculptural elements.

History of studies
The building is included in the main works on Alghero architecture.

Bibliography
A. Ingegno, The historic center of Alghero: notes for research, Oristano, S'Alvure, 1996;
L. Deriu, Alghero: the ancient city, Sassari, Carlo Delfino, 2000.

How to get
There From the port you cross the Porta a Mare and access the Piazza Civica. The building is the second on the left.