Casa d? Italia in Lucerne has been sold

The Casa d 'Italia at Obergrundstrasse 92 in Lucerne. Ippazio Calabrese pictures

The property Obergrundstrasse 92 in Lucerne, on which lies the Casa d 'Italia, has a new owner. These are Poli Immobilien AG, which is domiciled in Meggen. He bought the property for 3.75 million francs from the Italian State, the former owner. You will find it on the website of the Consulate General of Italy in Zurich.

The minimum bid was CHF 3.39 million

The property was auctioned by the Italian state and sold to the highest bidder. The minimum bid was 3.39 million francs. Poli Immobilien AG thus exceeded this offer of 360,000 francs.

The cooperative Casa d'Italia Lucerna is disappointed with the sale. She also wanted to buy the property. However, the cooperative did not participate in the auction. She had already made an offer to the Italian state, according to board member Ippazio Calabrese. "Unfortunately, the Italian state has not responded to this offer," said Calabrese.

Meeting place for Italians

The Italian state had acquired the property of Obergrundstrasse 92 in Lucerne in the 1930s to set up a consulate there. For decades, the Casa d 'Italia has been a meeting place for first and second generation Italians. It also housed the library and the cultural association Dante Alighieri, neighborhoods of the Università Popolare Uniter Lucerne and the daycare Asilo Italiano. All tenants were terminated at the end of 2016.

The cooperative wanted to buy the house to preserve it as a legacy of Italian immigrants – "to the exclusion of any speculative intent", according to the statutes of the cooperative. In addition to promoting Italian culture, the Casa d'Italia Lucerna should become an "open meeting place, hospitable and supportive for the entire population".

Are apartments created?

The future use of the property "Casa d & # 39; Italia" is always open. "One of the options is to move our head office here," says Franz Glanzmann, chairman of the board of directors and co-owner of Poli Immobilien AG, currently headquartered in Meggen. It is also conceivable that apartments be created here. It is clear that the building requires some renovation work. At the Cooperative Casa d 'Italia, it is still hoped that at least part of the memory of Italian heritage can be preserved, possibly in the form of a small museum.